lean and mean

idiom

: efficient and successful
We wanted our business to be lean and mean.

Examples of lean and mean in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The big story China is taking a lean and mean approach to artificial intelligence as the tech rivalry with the U.S. intensifies. Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 10 Sep. 2025 Elvis, in the early ’70s, was still relatively lean and mean, and still incandescent to look at. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 7 Sep. 2025 Some are effectively lean and mean, like the narratively spare Open Water in 2003, or The Shallows from 2016, which is basically Blake Lively in a bikini being circled on a rock by a great white for 90 minutes. David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 20 June 2025 The first two seasons were lean and mean at six episodes apiece, which allowed the creative team (these days led by showrunner John Wirth) to adapt Hillerman’s books without dragging things out. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 8 Mar. 2025 Fox has stayed lean and mean since selling most of its assets to Disney. Tony Maglio, IndieWire, 10 Jan. 2025 Today’s edition is lean and mean, given *waves hand around in the air. Byandrew Nusca, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Lean and mean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lean%20and%20mean. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.

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