bureau

[byoor-oh]

noun

plural

bureaus, bureaux 

1. a chest of drawers, often with a mirror at the top.

2. a division of a government department or an independent administrative unit.

3. an office for collecting or distributing news or information, coordinating work, or performing specified services; agency.

   a travel bureau; a news bureau.

4. Chiefly British.,  a desk or writing table with drawers for papers.

bureau

/ ˈbjʊərəʊ /

noun

1. a writing desk with pigeonholes, drawers, etc, against which the writing surface can be closed when not in use

2. a chest of drawers

3. an office or agency, esp one providing services for the public

4. 1. a government department

   2. a branch of a government department

Other Word Forms

• subbureau noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bureau¹

1710–20; < French: desk, office, originally a kind of cloth (used to cover desks, etc.), Anglo-French, Old French burel, equivalent to bur- (probably < *būra, variant of Late Latin burra wool, fluff ; bourrée ) + -el noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of bureau¹

C17: from French: desk, office, originally: type of cloth used for covering desks and tables, from Old French burel , from Late Latin burra shaggy cloth

Example Sentences

Previously, he was Washington bureau chief, directing MarketWatch's economic, political and regulatory coverage.

Read more on MarketWatch

The bureau estimated that 12.9% of the U.S. population—or about 43.7 million people—lived in poverty last year, unchanged from 2023, based on a broad measure that many economists rely on.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

These resellers exist because federal guidelines require mortgage lenders to evaluate scores from each bureau, but lenders prefer to work with a single company.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Christopher Reardon, vice president of policy advocacy for the bureau, said in a statement that it “supports efforts to improve public health,” but has questions about how the law will be implemented.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

An FBI agent has reportedly been suspended because they refused to participate in a "perp walk" of the bureau's former director James Comey, US media reports.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• agency 
• authority 
• board 
• commission 
• committee 
• department 
• division 
• office