# dean vs den

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### dean
*noun · IPA /diːn/ · frequency rank #3,615*
A senior official in a college or university, who may be in charge of a division or faculty (for example, the dean of science) or have some other advisory or disciplinary function (for example, the dean of students).

### den
*noun · IPA /dɛn/ · frequency rank #7,004*
A small cavern or hollow place in the side of a hill, or among rocks; especially, a cave used by a wild animal for shelter or concealment.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dean-vs-den