Meaning & use
dean's list
Last updated
UK/ˌdiːnz ˈlɪst/
US/ˌdiːnz ˈlɪst/
Meaning
nounsingularAmerican
An official list of students at a college or university who earned especially high grades during a term.
Grammar: Used with the: she made the dean's list.
Patterns
- make the dean's list
- be on the dean's list
She made the dean's list for the third semester in a row.
To be on the dean's list, you need a grade point average above 3.5.
He proudly told his parents he had reached the dean's list.
Common combinations
- make the dean's list
- He worked hard to make the dean's list this term.
- be named to the dean's list
- Twenty students were named to the dean's list.
- dean's list student
- She is a dean's list student majoring in biology.
- dean's list honors
- He graduated with dean's list honors.
Synonyms and how they differ
- honor roll
- Honor roll is the similar list used mainly in high schools, whereas dean's list is for colleges.
- honors list
- An honors list is a general name and might apply to any school award.
- merit list
- Merit list is used mainly in British and Indian contexts for rankings, not the American honor.
Opposites
academic probation
Word family
Commonly confused: dean's list or honor roll?
dean's list vs honor roll
Honor roll lists high achievers in schools below college level; dean's list is a college honor.
Practice
Which phrase is the most natural?
Choose one answer.
The usual verb is make: you make the dean's list. The other verbs sound unnatural, although won is occasionally heard.
Make it your own
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