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Dewey

American  
[doo-ee, dyoo-ee] / ˈdu i, ˈdju i /

noun

  1. George, 1837–1917, U.S. admiral: defeated Spanish fleet in Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War.

  2. John, 1859–1952, U.S. philosopher and educator.

  3. Melvil Melville Louis Kossuth Dewey, 1851–1931, U.S. educator, administrator, and innovator in the field of library science.

  4. Thomas E(dmund), 1902–71, U.S. lawyer and political leader.

  5. a male given name, form of David.


Dewey British  
/ ˈdjuːɪ /

noun

  1. John. 1859–1952, US pragmatist philosopher and educator: an exponent of progressivism in education, he formulated an instrumentalist theory of learning through experience. His works include The School and Society (1899), Democracy and Education (1916), and Logic: the Theory of Inquiry (1938)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

“To me she represents the strength and resilience of this great country I love,” said Christine Bunke from Dewey, Ariz. “It may be flawed but it was never not great.”

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 11, 2026

Now, Dewey and the progressives argued, those ideas were to be repealed.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 15, 2026

James Dewey Watson was born in Chicago on 6 April 1928 to a family who believed in "books, birds and the Democratic Party".

From BBC Nov. 7, 2025

Konstantin Sonin, a Russian economist who serves as the John Dewey Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, said he doubted a Budapest summit would happen.

From Salon Aug. 23, 2025

“I guess the six hundreds is the Dewey decimal category where you find books about desserts,” said Akimi.

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

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