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• dean
  dean

  noun
• Dean
  Dean

  noun

  James (Byron), 1931–55, U.S. actor.

dean

¹ American  

[deen] / din /

noun

1. Education.

   1. the head of a faculty, school, or administrative division in a university or college.

      the dean of admissions.

   2. an official in an American college or secondary school having charge of student personnel services, such as counseling or discipline.

      the dean of men.

   3. the official in charge of undergraduate students at an English university.

2. Ecclesiastical.

   1. the head of the chapter of a cathedral or a collegiate church.

   2. Also called vicar forane.  a priest in the Roman Catholic Church appointed by a bishop to take care of the affairs of a division of a diocese.

3. the senior member, in length of service, of any group, organization, profession, etc..

   the dean of lexicographers.

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Dean ² American  

[deen] / din /

noun

1. James (Byron), 1931–55, U.S. actor.

2. Jay Hanna Dizzy, 1911–74, U.S. baseball pitcher.

3. a male given name: from the Old English family name meaning “valley.”

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dean ¹ British  

/ diːn /

noun

1. the chief administrative official of a college or university faculty

2. (at Oxford and Cambridge universities) a college fellow with responsibility for undergraduate discipline

3. Church of England the head of a chapter of canons and administrator of a cathedral or collegiate church

4. RC Church the cardinal bishop senior by consecration and head of the college of cardinals See also rural dean

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Dean ² British  

/ diːn /

noun

1. Christopher. See Torvill and Dean

2. James ( Byron ). 1931–55, US film actor, who became a cult figure; his films include East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause (both 1955). He died in a car crash

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Dean ³ British  

/ diːn /

noun

1. a forest in W England, in Gloucestershire, between the Rivers Severn and Wye: formerly a royal hunting ground

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Other Word Forms

• deanship
  noun

Etymology

Origin of dean

1300–50; Middle English deen < Anglo-French deen, dean, Old French deien < Late Latin decānus chief of ten, equivalent to Latin dec ( em ) ten + -ānus -an

Explanation

A dean is the head of a specific area of a college, university, or private school. When you're thinking about studying in Madagascar for a semester, you might make an appointment to talk to the study abroad dean. Individual colleges within a larger university system often have separate deans, like the dean of the medical school and the dean of arts and sciences. Within the college, there might also be a dean for each separate year, like the sophomore class dean, and deans for different offices or departments. Dean comes from the Latin decanus, first "commander of ten soldiers," and then "head of ten monks in a monastery," from the Greek word for "ten," deka.

Example Sentences

During freshman orientation the dean stated, “Look to your left, and look to your right. At graduation only half of you will be here.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

Greg’s class, “The Art of the Page Turner,” fell into his lap, and so did Dylan’s role as interim dean of faculty.

From Salon • May 11, 2026

“When there’s a shortage somewhere, everything is affected,” said Alan Fyall, an associate dean of the University of Central Florida Rosen College of Hospitality Management.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

He previously served as dean of the Wharton School and president of the University of Delaware.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026

Without slips of the tongue, we wouldn’t have spoonerisms, named after the Reverend William A. Spooner, a dean at Oxford.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Related Words

• administrator
• legislator
• principal
• professor
• senior