"means to an end" meaning in English

{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "end in itself"
    }
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "means to an end",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "means to ends",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "means to an end",
        "2": "means to ends"
      },
      "expansion": "means to an end (plural means to an end or means to ends)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2019 May 5, Danette Chavez, “Campaigns are Waged On and Off the Game Of Thrones Battlefield (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2021-01-28",
          "text": "Daenerys has seen herself as avenging the wrongs done to her from the first season; she didn’t really need another to add to her list. The way they’re handled, Missandei’s death, as well as Rhaegal’s, amount to chess pieces being removed from the board. They deserve better than being a means to an end, even on a show that’s often treated death (and life) as a game to be beaten.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A method by which a goal is achieved."
      ],
      "id": "en-means_to_an_end-en-noun-Xhp9vG~x",
      "links": [
        [
          "method",
          "method"
        ],
        [
          "goal",
          "goal"
        ],
        [
          "achieve",
          "achieve"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "the end justifies the means"
        },
        {
          "word": "the ends justify the means"
        },
        {
          "word": "ways and means"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "method by which a goal is achieved",
          "word": "keino"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "method by which a goal is achieved",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "Mittel zum Zweck"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "method by which a goal is achieved",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "środek do celu"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "method by which a goal is achieved",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "medio para un fin"
        }
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "means to an end"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/miːnz tuː ən ɛnd/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "means to an end"
}

{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "end in itself"
    }
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "means to an end",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "means to ends",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "means to an end",
        "2": "means to ends"
      },
      "expansion": "means to an end (plural means to an end or means to ends)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "the end justifies the means"
    },
    {
      "word": "the ends justify the means"
    },
    {
      "word": "ways and means"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2019 May 5, Danette Chavez, “Campaigns are Waged On and Off the Game Of Thrones Battlefield (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2021-01-28",
          "text": "Daenerys has seen herself as avenging the wrongs done to her from the first season; she didn’t really need another to add to her list. The way they’re handled, Missandei’s death, as well as Rhaegal’s, amount to chess pieces being removed from the board. They deserve better than being a means to an end, even on a show that’s often treated death (and life) as a game to be beaten.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A method by which a goal is achieved."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "method",
          "method"
        ],
        [
          "goal",
          "goal"
        ],
        [
          "achieve",
          "achieve"
        ]
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "means to an end"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/miːnz tuː ən ɛnd/"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "method by which a goal is achieved",
      "word": "keino"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "method by which a goal is achieved",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Mittel zum Zweck"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "method by which a goal is achieved",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "środek do celu"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "method by which a goal is achieved",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "medio para un fin"
    }
  ],
  "word": "means to an end"
}