bureau
Americannoun
plural
bureaus, bureaux-
a chest of drawers, often with a mirror at the top.
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a division of a government department or an independent administrative unit.
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an office for collecting or distributing news or information, coordinating work, or performing specified services; agency.
a travel bureau; a news bureau.
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Chiefly British. a desk or writing table with drawers for papers.
noun
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a writing desk with pigeonholes, drawers, etc, against which the writing surface can be closed when not in use
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a chest of drawers
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an office or agency, esp one providing services for the public
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a government department
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a branch of a government department
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Other Word Forms
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 ; cf. bourrée) + -el noun suffix
Explanation
When you put your socks away, you'll most likely put them in a bureau, or a chest of drawers used for storing clothes. Hopefully you've washed them. A dresser or a chest of drawers can also be called a bureau, a piece of furniture with drawers for storing things. Another meaning of bureau is "an office or government agency." These two definitions seem unrelated, but the original meaning of the French word bureau, "cloth covering for a desk" helps explain. Bureau gradually evolved to mean first just "desk" (and eventually "dresser"), and around 1720 it also started being used to mean a room full of desks, or an office.
Vocabulary lists containing bureau
The Ottoman Empire: Furniture Words
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Walk Two Moons
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"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Atlantic’s Sarah Fitzpatrick reportedly became the subject of a criminal leak probe after she reported on Patel’s alleged drinking and erratic management of the bureau.
From Salon • May 16, 2026
Joe Flint is a media and entertainment reporter for The Wall Street Journal based in the Los Angeles bureau, covering everything from broadcast networks and sports to cable and streaming.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
The bureau said that nearly 60% of the April rise can be attributed to a major jump in the index for final demand services, which rose 1.2% month over month in April.
From Barron's • May 13, 2026
The anti-corruption bureau shared part of a wiretapped conversation as part of its case and said six more people had been identified as suspects.
From BBC • May 12, 2026
The White brothers were part of a small contingent of frontier lawmen who were known inside the bureau as the Cowboys.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
