Showing results for "dean"

• a variation of dene.

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  Dean

  noun

  James (Byron), 1931–55, U.S. actor.

dean

¹ American  

[deen] / din /

noun

• deans
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• deanship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• deans
  plural

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

See Examples For:

dean Dean deans

When he was the director of international student services at Syracuse University, Juan Tavares received a regular Saturday email from the dean of admissions reporting the tally of student applications, acceptances and enrollment deposits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

We could have done better,’” recalls the former Harvard dean.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

A Syracuse spokeswoman said she wasn’t aware of Tavares’s recommendations on attracting international students and said the dean of admissions at that time is no longer at the university.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

She is a law professor and associate dean at Stanford.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

The next day there was a luncheon for honors graduates, and I was seated with the college dean and the director of the honors program.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Olivia Dean speaks about obliterating a record held by Abba, toppling Jay-Z and Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and why meeting Stevie Wonder almost did her in.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

Dean Henderson: No chance for Manchester City's goals but demonstrated his quality with a fine save early on from Anderson, then others from Semenyo and Cherki.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

He completed five of 10 passes for 31 yards, including an eight-yard touchdown pass to running back Dean Connors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Chef Dean Banks runs restaurants across the city in the west end and on Constitution Street.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

Cat stood next to Ella and listened to Dean announce that Luis Bustamante, Walt’s friend, had won first.

From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn

This forces department chairs, deans, provosts and research vice presidents to own the veracity of every proposed publication.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026

As part of the role, monarchs are responsible for approving the appointment of archbishops, bishops and deans on the recommendation of the prime minister.

From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2026

After hearing from February test takers, law school deans and leaders of the State Bar, the Senate committee approved an independent review of the exam by the California State Auditor.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2025

In the months leading up to the exams, the deans of many of California’s top law schools flagged concerns to the State Bar.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2025

The cost of cyclotrons already was raising the hackles of academic deans and presidents.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• administrator
• legislator
• principal
• professor
• senior