Intent means the purpose or plan behind someone's actions. When you do something with intent, you mean to do it, it is not an accident. If you knock over a glass of milk while reaching for the salt, that's an accident. But if you're angry and knock it over on purpose, that's intent.

Intent matters enormously in understanding behavior. Imagine a classmate bumps into you in the hallway. If they were looking at their phone and didn't see you, there's no bad intent. But if they deliberately shoved you because they're angry, the intent changes everything. The same action, bumping into someone, means something completely different depending on what the person meant to do.

In law, intent often determines how serious a crime is. Accidentally backing your bike into someone's fence is different from deliberately ramming it. Courts ask: Did the person intend to cause harm? The answer affects the consequences.

You'll also hear people talk about good intentions. When someone has good intentions, they're trying to help or do the right thing, even if their actions don't work out perfectly. Your friend might have good intentions when trying to cheer you up, even if their joke falls flat. Intent can reveal what's in someone's heart when they act.