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
dean
intransitive verb
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
Frank Hernandez, dean of the College of Education, said the endowment helps position TCU toward its goal of becoming an R1 university by 2035, the highest research designation that can be awarded to an institution.
—
Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Dec. 2025
December 03, 2025 Corey Phelps, the dean of Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, says great problem solvers are hard to find.
—Harvard Business Review, 3 Dec. 2025
Schauna Rasmussen, dean of early college and workforce strategy at Madison College, said the answer isn’t to lower the standard, but to help more teachers reach it.
—Miranda Dunlap, jsonline.com, 3 Dec. 2025
Regarding free speech concerns in the Jewish studies department, a high-ranking dean reiterated the university's policies in an email and indirectly described Jikeli's behavior as in violation.
—Cate Charron, IndyStar, 1 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dean
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Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Dec. 2025
December 03, 2025 Corey Phelps, the dean of Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, says great problem solvers are hard to find.
—Harvard Business Review, 3 Dec. 2025
Schauna Rasmussen, dean of early college and workforce strategy at Madison College, said the answer isn’t to lower the standard, but to help more teachers reach it.
—Miranda Dunlap, jsonline.com, 3 Dec. 2025
Regarding free speech concerns in the Jewish studies department, a high-ranking dean reiterated the university's policies in an email and indirectly described Jikeli's behavior as in violation.
—Cate Charron, IndyStar, 1 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dean
Cite this Entry
“Dean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dean. Accessed 8 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dean
noun1
: 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
Biographical Definition
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