dean

noun

ˈdēn 

1

a

: the head of the chapter of a collegiate or cathedral church

b

: a Roman Catholic priest who supervises one district of a diocese

2

a

: the head of a division, faculty, college, or school of a university

b

: a college or secondary school administrator in charge of counseling and disciplining students

3

: doyen sense 1

dean intransitive verb

deanship

ˈdēn-ˌship 

noun

Synonyms

• doyen
• elder
• elder statesman
• éminence grise
• nestor
• senior

Examples of dean in a Sentence

She's the dean of the university's business school.

the dean of liberal arts

Recent Examples on the Web

Chuck Goudie, Chicago media's dean of investigations, is no longer on the air at ABC7. —Justin Kaufmann, Axios, 17 Jan. 2025

Kimberly Dodd, dean of Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, is an expert in outbreak response for emerging infectious diseases. —Kimberly Dodd, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2025

That is according to Eric Goldman, associate dean for research, law professor and co-director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law. —Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 14 Jan. 2025

Canada lawmaker suggests letting 3 US states join, get free health care Health insurance companies face new rules across US states Dr. Roshini Pinto-Powell, associate dean of admissions at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine, elaborated on Thesen's concerns. —Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English deen, from Anglo-French deen, deien, from Late Latin decanus chief of ten, from Greek dekanos, from deka ten — more at ten

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing dean

• dean's list
• rural dean
• sub-dean

Kids Definition

dean

noun

ˈdēn 

1

: the head of the chapter of a cathedral church

2

a

: the head of a division, faculty, college, or school of a university

b

: a college or secondary school administrator in charge of counseling or disciplining students

3

: the senior member of a group

the dean of the diplomatic corps

deanship

-ˌship 

noun

Biographical Definition

Dean

biographical name

ˈdēn 

Sir Patrick 1909–1994 British diplomat