provost

American  

[proh-vohst, prov-uhst, proh-voh] / ˈproʊ voʊst, ˈprɒv əst, ˈproʊ voʊ /

noun

• provosts
  plural

1. a person appointed to superintend or preside.

2. an administrative officer in any of various colleges and universities who holds high rank and is concerned with the curriculum, faculty appointments, etc.

3. Ecclesiastical. the chief dignitary of a cathedral or collegiate church.

4. the steward or bailiff of a medieval manor or an officer of a medieval administrative district.

5. the mayor of a municipality in Scotland.

6. Obsolete. a prison warden.

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provost British  

/ ˈprɒvəst /

noun

1. an appointed person who superintends or presides

2. the head of certain university colleges or schools

3. (in Scotland) the chairman and civic head of certain district councils or (formerly) of a burgh council Compare convener

4. Church of England the senior dignitary of one of the more recent cathedral foundations

5. RC Church

   1. the head of a cathedral chapter in England and some other countries

   2. (formerly) the member of a monastic community second in authority under the abbot

6. (in medieval times) an overseer, steward, or bailiff in a manor

7. obsolete a prison warder

8. military a military policeman

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• provostship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• provosts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of provost

before 900; Middle English; Old English profost < Medieval Latin prōpositus abbot, prior, provost, literally, (one) placed before, Latin: past participle of prōpōnere. See pro- ¹, posit

Explanation

A provost is an administrator at a college or university. The provost is very important to the school. If you go to a middle school or high school, you've probably never heard of a provost. That's because this is a type of high-ranking administrator at a college or university. The provost usually ranks higher than the deans (who head different departments) but not as high as the president of the school. The provost is involved with many important decisions for the school. This word originally referred to a religious leader, and it still carries a lot of authority.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

provost provosts

Her academic leadership roles at the university have included those of interim associate dean, associate vice president for Student Success, and associate provost for Student Success, Equity and Innovation, the statement said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

“A lot of them are essentially independent contractors, so it’s a slightly different trajectory than someone who goes to an engineering program,” said Michael Bryant, interim provost at CalArts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

A petition addressed to the president, provost and board of trustees by an alumni group, signed by more than 4,000 people, urged Yale to resist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

“This is an industry in flux — and in reverse, especially when it comes to diversification,” Darnell Hunt, UCLA’s executive vice chancellor and provost and the report’s co-founder, said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

“You are the wife of Kostas Vilkas, provost at the university?” asked a man in a suit sitting down from us.

From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys

This forces department chairs, deans, provosts and research vice presidents to own the veracity of every proposed publication.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026

Among those backing the effort are former New College provosts, Bard College in New York and PEN America, a free expression advocacy group.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 1, 2023

The study added that between 1636 and 1834, 79 lord provosts were nominated to Glasgow Town Council, 40 of whom had connections to Atlantic slavery and others who owned enslaved people.

From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2022

In October, the university hosted 66 college presidents and provosts for a conference on free speech.

From Slate ● Mar. 23, 2018

The provostship of Paris, which comprehended functions analogous to those of prefect, mayor, and receiver-general, became a purchasable office, filled sometimes by two provosts at a time.

From A Popular History of France from the Earliest Times, Volume 2 by Robert Black