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
The video went viral, triggering backlash from Republican lawmakers who called for McCoul to be fired and praised the fact that the school also demoted the College of Arts and Science’s dean and revoked administrative duties from a department head.
—
Laura Gail Miller, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2025
Clemens also claims in his suit that school dean Jed Atkins was using the messaging app Signal, known for end-to-end encryption for messages and calls and disappearing messages, to communicate with members of the board.
—Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025
Yu Hongtao, dean of the School of Life Sciences at Westlake University, China’s first public-private research university, says even at a time when researchers are concerned about the future of science in the US, those interested in joining the faculty of his school should think carefully.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
The letter, sent to Hook by the university's dean of the College of Fine Arts, Bruce Kelley, said Hook violated policy.
—Deputy News Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dean
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Laura Gail Miller, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2025
Clemens also claims in his suit that school dean Jed Atkins was using the messaging app Signal, known for end-to-end encryption for messages and calls and disappearing messages, to communicate with members of the board.
—Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025
Yu Hongtao, dean of the School of Life Sciences at Westlake University, China’s first public-private research university, says even at a time when researchers are concerned about the future of science in the US, those interested in joining the faculty of his school should think carefully.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
The letter, sent to Hook by the university's dean of the College of Fine Arts, Bruce Kelley, said Hook violated policy.
—Deputy News Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Sep. 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 6 Oct. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share