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

In 2016, Ah Yun came to Marquette to serve as dean of the communications college. —Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 20 Nov. 2024

Pedro Noguera, dean of the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education, said becoming a principal makes the most sense for teachers who want a leadership role and hope to have a wider impact on campus. —Kayla Jimenez, USA TODAY, 11 Nov. 2024

So much so that last month, shared seven tips on how to lead effectively as a teammate in a Harvard Business Review article, co-authored by former Harvard Business School dean Nitin Nohria. —Natalie Wu, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2024

Pedro Noguera, dean of the USC Rossier School of Education, said L.A. Unified remains obligated to help Black students succeed — and activists should track the data and continue to demand results. —Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2024

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