Are a Means to an End?

If you say that something is a means to an end, you mean that it helps you to achieve what you want, although it may not be enjoyable or important itself. We seem to have lost sight of the fact that marketing is only a means to an end.

Does a means to an end mean?

: something done only to produce a desired result For her, marrying a rich man was just a means to an end. All she really cared about was money.

Where does a means to an end come from?

The expression a means to an end seems to have arisen sometime in the mid-1800s, though its origin is uncertain. It may be a rephrasing of the proverb, the end justifies the means.