mean to say

Meaning

1. Oxford67% of films

   used to emphasize what you are saying or to ask sb if they really mean what they say

   Do you mean to say...

2. Editorial25% of films

   used to say that one thing does not necessarily follow from or imply another

In the movies · 7

• I mean to say, if I freeze, l can't rightly drop,Raising Arizona1987
• Do you mean to say...One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest1975
• - And what I mean to say... - You've said what you had to say.Guess Who's Coming to Dinner1967
• So, you mean to say...Deadpool2016
• I mean to say.Serenity2005
• What I mean to say is...Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince2009
• What'd you mean? To say goodbye?All of Us Strangers2023
• I didn't mean to say that.eXistenZ1999

Learn it in full scenes

• All of Us Strangers2023
  • Harry Knocks on Adam's Door
  • Adam Visits His Parents' Old House
  • Harry Comes Round to Drink

From the same entry

• be meant to be
• I mean
• mean business
• mean no harm
• mean well
• be no mean
• the happy mean

More idioms

• see the world
• at the crack of dawn
• be all the rage
• frighten to death
• have a bone to pick with
• have a mind of your own
• of your own free will
• pay good money for
• take the edge off
• for your information
• you're on
• out of hand