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

Jean Wactawski-Wende, PhD, dean of the University of Buffalo’s School of Public Health and an epidemiologist who researches what influences women’s health and led the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) steering committee. — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 17 Sep. 2026

Political analyst Abraham Kuol Nyuon, dean of the University of Juba graduate college, said the leadership change could further complicate preparations, including voter registration. — ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026

Reed is a citizen of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation and serves as the dean for Sacramento State’s Wileety Native American College. — Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 16 Sep. 2026

The university says that Glover, in his position as executive advisor, will work with the gamut of university leadership, including the president, provost and college deans. — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 15 Sep. 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