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
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
Normally home to the cathedral's dean, the Tudor-era deanery has been unused since the last dean resigned in March 2025.
—
Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2025
The three coaches and a dean were later reinstated.
—Kate Perez, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2025
Local people rely on lions to generate tourism income, and in return big cats feed on old cattle abandoned by local herders, wrote Yadvendradev Vikramsinh Jhala, the former dean of Wildlife Institute of India, in an academic paper published last year.
—Aishwarya S. Iyer, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2025
The new endowments will honor associate professor John Haas and Faye Julian, a former dean of the college.
—Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dean
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Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2025
The three coaches and a dean were later reinstated.
—Kate Perez, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2025
Local people rely on lions to generate tourism income, and in return big cats feed on old cattle abandoned by local herders, wrote Yadvendradev Vikramsinh Jhala, the former dean of Wildlife Institute of India, in an academic paper published last year.
—Aishwarya S. Iyer, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2025
The new endowments will honor associate professor John Haas and Faye Julian, a former dean of the college.
—Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dean
Cite this Entry
“Dean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dean. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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
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