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

A student who misses an entire class period or arrives to class more than 10 minutes late is considered unexcused unless the teacher or dean receives a pass accounting for the student’s whereabouts. —Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026

Jason King, dean of the USC Thornton School of Music, said Dudamel’s career reflects the university’s emphasis on artistic collaboration and cultural connection. —City News Service, Daily News, 30 Mar. 2026

On the cusp of his 90th birthday, the dean of Bay Area jazz pianism shares music and some first-hand accounts witnessing Davis and Coltrane in action in San Francisco. —Andrew Gilbert, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Mar. 2026

One associate dean couched the misstep as a result of learning pains tied to the adoption of new technology. —Emily Hodgson Anderson, The Conversation, 25 Mar. 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
• 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