deans

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of dean.

   The deans of the law and medical schools signed a joint letter opposing the budget cuts.

   Two of the city's oldest reporters, the deans of the press corps, sat in the front row.

   Note

   University officials, church dignitaries and the senior members of a group all share this regular plural. In titles built with of, the -s goes on the first word: deans of students, the deans of science and engineering. The same spelling also serves as the verb's present tense.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of dean.

   Professor Hale deans anyone she catches copying a lab report, no second chances.

   He still teaches one seminar a year, but mostly he deans at the medical school now.

   Note

   Two quite different verbs share this form. The informal campus one takes a student as its object and means sending that student to see the dean. The rare one stands alone and means holding the office itself. An object is the quickest clue: with one it points to discipline, without one to the job.

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