What does "a means to an end" mean?

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.

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'.

Thank you for your help.

0a means to an end02br
00something that you are not interested in but that you do because it will help you to achieve something else. 00Mike doesn't have any professional ambitions. For him, work is just a means to an end.00 (not used with 01i00the02i00) 02br
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00See also: 05000, 05102br
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Think of it in this way:

Means is defined as an instrument to accomplish some end; End is defined as a result of using the means. So, if we were to put them together, we would say that something is an instrument (means) to obtain some result (end).

Hope this will help...

In philosophy, it means that you are using someone to achieve certain objectives. It's like treating someone as a 'stepping stone'.

This is the best answer.

It means simply that it work is used to reach a goal....

Dear Asker,

Means to an end means the steps adopted by one in order to achieve a desired result. The best illustration that we may use here for the time being would be the various modes of transport we have in order to arrive at a particular destination. We may use the road or air or water and the related modes of conveyance suited for each.

"Work is a means to an end" means th

Thank you so much for this