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bureau

[ byoor-oh ]
/ ˈbyʊər oʊ /
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noun, plural bu·reaus, bu·reaux [byoor-ohz]. /ˈbyʊər oʊz/.
a chest of drawers, often with a mirror at the top.
a division of a government department or an independent administrative unit.
an office for collecting or distributing news or information, coordinating work, or performing specified services; agency: a travel bureau; a news bureau.
Chiefly British. a desk or writing table with drawers for papers.
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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 <*bĆ«ra, variant of Late Latin burra wool, fluff; cf. bourrĂ©e) + -el noun suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM bureau

subbureau, noun, plural sub·bu·reaus, sub·bu·reaux.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bureau in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bureau

bureau
/ (ˈbjʊərəʊ) /

noun plural -reaus or -reaux (-rəʊz)
mainly British a writing desk with pigeonholes, drawers, etc, against which the writing surface can be closed when not in use
US a chest of drawers
an office or agency, esp one providing services for the public
  1. a government department
  2. a branch of a government department

Word Origin for bureau

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
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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