Definition of "dean" []

• An administrative officer in charge of a college, faculty, or division in a university. (noun)
• An officer of a college or high school who counsels students and supervises the enforcement of rules. (noun)
• Ecclesiastical The head of the chapter of canons governing a cathedral or collegiate church. (noun)
• Roman Catholic Church A priest appointed to oversee a group of parishes within a diocese. (noun)
• The senior member of a body or group: the dean of the Washington diplomatic corps. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "CHARLES II. playing at tennis with a dean, who struck the ball well, the king said, "That's a good stroke for a _dean_.""
• "C. Maoxian: @dean: Thanks for contributing the boilermaker numbers. dean: A construction boilermaker makes $100,000 a yr and a boilermaker general forman is making around $140K / yr ...."
• "For 11-year-old Malak Abu Stani (ph) -- Native Dean, dean is Arabic for religion and way of life -- put fun back into faith."