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

Making small talk, for instance, can help forge both personal and professional relationships down the line, says Kristie Patten, dean of NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. — Gili Malinsky, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026

Now in its third year, women make up a majority of the BHC's enrollment, according to the college's dean, Boatamo Ati Mosupyoe. — Elissa Nadworny, NPR, 23 Oct. 2026

This intense focus on helping to ensure the next generation of Frost School students will shape the sound of what comes next can be seen in its appointment of industry veteran Matt Serletic, who attended the event, as its new dean. — Qygwork, Billboard, 21 Oct. 2026

The university says the dean of faculty sent the letter to general counsel for verification and then shared it with the independent review. — Mahsa Saeidi, CBS News, 20 Oct. 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