used when you are explaining exactly what you mean by something

[kadioguy]

i.e.
abbreviation

used when you are explaining exactly what you mean by something

Senior officers – i.e. anyone with the rank of colonel or above – get their own administrative staff.

https://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesaurus-category/british/ways-of-explaining-or-clarifying
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Could you tell me what 'by something' here means?

 

[emsr2d2]

i.e. is used when you are explaining exactly what you meant by something you said/wrote directly before "i.e.".

 

[kadioguy]

i.e. is used when you are explaining exactly what you meant by something you said/wrote directly before "i.e.".

I still don't understand. :-?

Why not i.e. is used when you are explaining exactly what you meant by something you said/wrote directly after "i.e."?

In the example:
Senior officers – i.e. anyone with the rank of colonel or above – get their own administrative staff.

We are explaining exactly what 'Senior officers' means by 'anyone with the rank of colonel or above', which is directly after "i.e.", aren't we?

 

[kadioguy]

Now I understand what you meant. You meant (a), not (b).

a. i.e. is used when you are explaining exactly what you meant by something you said/wrote directly before "i.e.".

b. i.e. is used when you are explaining exactly what you meant by something you said/wrote directly before "i.e.".
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[FONT=Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]mean something by something:[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]Everything depends on what you mean by the word ‘free’.

[/FONT]https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/mean_1?q=mean+

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes, I hadn't realised you were confused about "meant by". I thought it was the "something" that was confusing you!