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

Columbia earlier in the summer had removed the deans permanently from their positions but opted not to fire them. —David Goldman, CNN, 15 Aug. 2024

When the dean of UC Berkeley School of Law came before a subcommittee chaired by Alatorre to ask for more money, Alatorre told him the school needed to institute affirmative action first. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2024

For the last 10 years, Ward was the vice president for learner success and dean of campus life at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. —Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 4 Aug. 2024

Context: Angel City agreed to sell itself to Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife Willow Bay, dean of the USC Annenberg School, at a valuation of $250 million — another new data point of growth for the sector. —Kerry Flynn, Axios, 25 July 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