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
dean
intransitive verb
Synonyms
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
In 2013, she was recruited as inaugural dean of the dental school at the University of Utah.
—
Bymeredith Wadman, science.org, 4 Nov. 2024
In January, as students and faculty continued to protest, an associate dean at the school resigned, accusing the administration of a lack of transparency on the cuts.
—Angelica Villa, ARTnews.com, 24 Oct. 2024
Among them was director Alexander Mackendrick, the dean of the film school at the time.
—Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2024
Why trustees are critical for the community college in the innovation economy
While presidents, deans, workforce leaders, and faculty all have critical roles in unlocking equitable pathways to good jobs resulting from R&D investments, trustees have an especially important role to play.
—Shalin Jyotishi, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dean 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Bymeredith Wadman, science.org, 4 Nov. 2024
In January, as students and faculty continued to protest, an associate dean at the school resigned, accusing the administration of a lack of transparency on the cuts.
—Angelica Villa, ARTnews.com, 24 Oct. 2024
Among them was director Alexander Mackendrick, the dean of the film school at the time.
—Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2024
Why trustees are critical for the community college in the innovation economy
While presidents, deans, workforce leaders, and faculty all have critical roles in unlocking equitable pathways to good jobs resulting from R&D investments, trustees have an especially important role to play.
—Shalin Jyotishi, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dean
Dictionary Entries Near dean
Cite this Entry
“Dean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dean. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dean
noun1
: 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
Biographical Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share