bureau

American  

[byoor-oh] / ˈbyʊər oʊ /

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.

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bureau British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• subbureau noun

Etymology

Origin of bureau

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

Example Sentences

Construction activity was supported by mild temperatures in parts of southern China, which helped projects proceed on schedule, the bureau said.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the days after the shooting, the Philippines immigration bureau told the BBC that the father had entered the country using an Indian passport while his son used an Australian passport.

From BBC

He held public meetings and invited the heads of the local police and forestry bureau.

From BBC

The Sheriff’s Department said in a statement that since 2021 it has sent nine cases for review by either its Internal Affairs or Internal Criminal Investigation bureaus, all of which “are still being actively investigated.”

From Los Angeles Times

Bush apparently decided at some unspecified point that the intelligence agencies needed a “watcher” and thus established The Orphanage: analysts downstairs, “mission control” upstairs, the equivalent of an internal-affairs bureau for the clandestine services.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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