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

Leadership at the university turned over last year, with the president, the dean of students and the director of Greek life all departing. — Brittany Shammas, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026

Parolin, who had been Francis' top deputy but remains in the job, was considered a leading contender in the conclave that elected Leo and was recently passed over as dean of the College of Cardinals. — ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026

On Friday, deans and faculty in academic regalia processed into Alumni Park, where the Trojan Marching Band accompanied the national anthem as temperatures climbed toward the 90s during the nearly two-hour ceremony. — Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026

The pope also held separate meetings with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the dean of the College of Cardinals, and Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the vicar general of the Diocese of Rome. — CBS News, 16 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