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 of dean

• elder
• veteran
• nestor
• doyen
• elder statesman
• éminence grise
• 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

Community is one of the most valuable parts of a workout class like this, said Martin, who is dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. — Sneha Dhandapani, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026

Avila, a captain in the Florida National Guard, serves as dean of the School of Criminal Justice at Doral College, a private school that opened in 2012. — Gray Rohrer, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2026

With a master’s in public administration from FIU, Avila is a college dean who earned $62,000 last year at a small online school, Doral College, a job that aligns him closely with the growing charter school movement. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2026

The meetings were first convened in November 2023 by LucasFilm pioneer Kathleen Kennedy and American Film Institute dean Susan Ruskin. — Corbin Bolies, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026

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

Rhymes for dean

• bean
• bein
• bien
• bouin
• clean
• deen
• diene
• gene
• glean
• jean
• keen
• lien

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