provost

noun

pro·​vost ˈprō-ˌvōst 

ˈprä-vəst,

ˈprō-vəst,

 especially before another noun  ˌprō-(ˌ)vō

1

: the chief dignitary of a collegiate or cathedral chapter

2

: the chief magistrate of a Scottish burgh

3

: the keeper of a prison

4

: a high-ranking university administrative officer

Examples of provost in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Administration includes the offices of the provost, vice provost and president. —The Arizona Republic, 19 Apr. 2024

This year still had the third-largest applicant pool in history, Logan Powell, associate provost for enrollment and dean of undergraduate admission, said in a release. —Matt Egan, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024

Beeby beat out two finalists: interim UW-La Crosse Chancellor Betsy Morgan and Christopher Olsen, the provost of Indiana State University. —Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2024

The $5 million that the state flagship school in Gainesville had allocated for such efforts will be redirected to a faculty recruitment fund, according to a memo from the university's provost, general counsel and vice president for human resources. —Susan Svrluga The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 3 Mar. 2024

The school also is knee-deep in its provost search. —The Arizona Republic, 3 Apr. 2024

The finalists are: James Beeby, provost of Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire Betsy Morgan, interim chancellor of UW-La Crosse Christopher Olsen, provost of Indiana State University Finalists will participate in campus forums March 4-6. —Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 1 Mar. 2024

For officers, simulation training is much more effective than shooting at a line of paper targets, or simply going over shoot/don’t-shoot scenarios, said Jamie Wicker, provost of public safety education at Wake Tech. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2024

The former university provost assisted Stanford with its move into the ACC last summer, according to sources, and has remained influential in athletic department matters. —Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English profost & Anglo-French provost, from Medieval Latin propositus, alteration of praepositus, from Latin, one in charge, director, from past participle of praeponere to place at the head — more at preposition

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing provost

• provost court
• provost guard
• provost marshal

Kids Definition

provost

noun

pro·​vost ˈprō-ˌvōst 

ˈpräv-əst,

 before "marshal" often  ˌprō-vō

: a high managing officer (as in a university)