What does "a means to an end" mean?

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	Anonymous  #167989  Fri, 09 Dec 05 10:30 AM Hello, everyone! I met a sentence  which I don't quite understand. It says "Work is a means to an end." Can anyone tell me what it means? Thanks in advance!    Anonymous

	nona the brit  #168000  Fri, 09 Dec 05 11:14 AM A means to an end is an idiom. It is used when something you are doing (work) is not as important to you as what you hope to achieve by doing it (in this case, probably money). Whoever says this does not really enjoy their job in itself, it is a job they are just doing to earn some money.    nona the brit Joined on Wed, Sep 22 2004 England Veteran Member (11,347) The name says it all.
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	Rokas2  #168172  Fri, 09 Dec 05 08:11 PM I'd like to add that, in my opinion, the word end in this idiom means goal, purpose in which case the idiom means (like nona just said) 'a means to achieve your goal'.    Rokas2 Joined on Sun, Nov 27 2005 New Member (17)
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	Vivichern  #168702  Sun, 11 Dec 05 01:23 PM Thank you for your help.    Vivichern Joined on Sat, Dec 10 2005 New Member (01)

	Anonymous  #489955  Mon, 17 Mar 08 04:26 PM a means to an end something that you are not interested in but that you do because it will help you to achieve something else. Mike doesn't have any professional ambitions. For him, work is just a means to an end. (not used with the) See also: end, mean IdiI() Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms © Cambridge University Press 1998 a means to an end something done to achieve something else. You may get tired of regular physical exercise, but it's simply a means to an end. See also: end, mean IdiA() Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms © Cambridge University Press 2003      Anonymous
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