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

And the dean of students, who was in that meeting as well, concluded that the boy did not present a threat to the school. —Gina Kaufman, Detroit Free Press, 12 Mar. 2024

Then Frenk named outsider Nell Jessup Newton, who served as dean of the University of Notre Dame Law School for a decade, as the UM law school interim dean for a year. —Jimena Tavel, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024

From there, the cathedral’s dean will lead them on an exclusive tour of the building. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Mar. 2024

Sandoval was dean of students at Agape Boarding School in February 2021 when the Missouri Highway Patrol launched an investigation into abuse of students at the Cedar County school in Stockton. —Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 3 Mar. 2024

First among these was Alice Liddell, the middle daughter of Dodgson’s dean at Christ Church; Alice is her story. —Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 28 Feb. 2024

The school faces lawsuits over decisions that day that allowed the gunman to stay in school after meeting with a counselor, the dean of students and his parents over a disturbing drawing on a math worksheet. —Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, 15 Mar. 2024

But engineering wasn’t for Mr. Millstein after all, and the assistant dean of Columbia Law School, who was teaching an undergraduate course in law for engineers, steered him toward a legal career. —Sam Roberts, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024

That policy debate and its potential implications for millions of Americans left an impression upon Pan, and the dean had seen it. —Cathie Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 6 Mar. 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

• rural dean
• dean's list
• 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