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

McMahon’s resume in education includes working as a teacher, coach, dean, activities director, assistant principal and principal. —Chuck Fieldman, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2026

Walz, who was previously associate dean and department chair of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, as well as as assistant dean for special projects at CONHP, will officially begin her new duties July 1. —Ryan Anderson, Arkansas Online, 8 May 2026

Nancy Gasper, the dean of Seminole State College’s nursing program, agreed. —Annie Martin, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 May 2026

Munoz, who lives in the San Carlos neighborhood of San Diego, is a retired dean and professor of English as a second language at Cuyamaca College. —Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 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