Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - meaning

~1 n 1 »OF A WORD/SIGN ETC« the thing or idea that a word, expression, or sign represents + of  (Can you explain the meaning of this word? | The expression has two very different meanings in English.) 2 »OF WHAT SB SAYS« the things or ideas that someone wants you to understand from what they say + of  (We couldn't work out the meaning of this last remark.) get/catch/understand sb's meaning (=understand what they are trying to tell you)  (Barry could make things pretty unpleasant for us, if you get my meaning.) 3 what's the meaning of this? spoken used to demand an explanation  (What's the meaning of this? I asked you to be here an hour ago!) 4 »OF A BOOK/FILM ETC« the ideas that a writer, artist etc wants to show in a book, picture, film etc 5 »PURPOSE/SPECIAL QUALITY« the quality that makes something seem important and makes people feel that their life, work etc has a purpose and value  (lose its meaning)  (Life seemed to have lost its meaning since Janet's death. | have meaning)  (Her studies no longer seemed to have any meaning.) 6 »TRUE NATURE« the true nature and importance of something + of  (I was starting to realize the full meaning of the night's events.) 7 (not) know the meaning of to (not) have experience and understanding of a particular situation or feeling  (Living in that area, they knew the meaning of fear. | "Guilty, she doesn't know the meaning of the word!") ~2 adj a meaning look/expression a look that expresses a particular feeling strongly