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

• 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

The following Naperville residents have completed college/university degrees or have been named to their school’s dean’s list, honor roll or similar academic achievement list. Names, degrees and honors appear below as provided by the respective schools. —Naperville Sun, Chicago Tribune, 30 June 2025

The program would combine courses taught by Kennedy and Munk faculty members, according to the deans of both institutions. —Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 28 June 2025

This is the domain of Warren Buffett, considered by many the dean of U.S. stock pickers. —John Dorfman, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025

Harold Koh, Sterling professor of international law and a former dean of Yale Law School, served in the Justice and State Departments under four presidents from both parties. —Jacob Rosen, CBS News, 11 June 2025

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
• chine
• clean
• deen
• diene
• gene
• glean
• jean
• keen

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