desk

American  

[desk] / dɛsk /

noun

• desks
  plural

1. 

   an article of furniture having a broad, usually level, writing surface, as well as drawers or compartments for papers, writing materials, etc.

2. a frame for supporting a book from which the service is read in a church.

3. a pulpit.

4. the section of a large organization, as a governmental bureau or newspaper, having authority over and responsibility for particular operations within the organization.

   city desk; foreign desk.

5. a table or counter, as in a library or office, at which a specific job is performed or a service offered.

   an information desk; reception desk.

6. a stand used to support sheet music; music stand.

7. (in an orchestra) a seat or position assigned by rank (usually used in combination).

   a first-desk flutist.

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adjective

1. of or relating to a writing desk.

   a desk drawer.

2. of a size or form suitable for use on a desk.

   desk dictionary.

3. done at or based on a desk, as in an office or schoolroom.

   He used to be a traveling salesman, but now he has a desk job.

desk British  

/ dɛsk /

noun

1. a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments

2. a service counter or table in a public building, such as a hotel

   information desk

3. a support, lectern, or book rest for the book from which services are read in a church

4. the editorial section of a newspaper, etc, responsible for a particular subject

   the news desk

5. 1. a music stand shared by two orchestral players

   2. these two players

6. (modifier)

   1. made for use at a desk

      a desk calendar

   2. done at a desk

      a desk job

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• desks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of desk

1350–1400; Middle English deske < Medieval Latin desca, descus desk, lectern, probably < a Romance-influenced form of Latin discus discus; cf. dais, dish, Medieval Latin discus refectory table

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Explanation

The flat-surfaced piece of furniture at which you sit and work, write, or use your computer is called a desk. Some offices have a desk for each employee. Students often sit at classroom desks arranged in rows, and you'll also find desks in libraries, offices, and homes. Your college roommate might prefer to study while lying in bed, while you like working at your desk. Someone who has a "desk job" works in an office. Desk comes from the Medieval Latin desca, "table to write on," which has a Greek root, diskos, "platter or disk."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

desk desks

If you work at a desk for a company that is spending heavily on artificial intelligence, your salary may already be paying for the computer.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026

They sit on his desk and hold a special reverence now that the tables have turned.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

I sat in the plastic folding chair in the office, across from Fleurijean’s desk, where a few weeks prior, a 20-year-old named Pierre Damas Bel had sat, asking for help.

From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026

She arrived at CNN in 1983, working as a news desk assistant in Atlanta and then at its New York bureau with the ambition of becoming a foreign correspondent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

I rushed to the front and placed the cup in front of Mr. Lew, who had taken up his place at Ba’s desk again.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

They wear drab suits and work out of drab offices; the dramatic montages are of people working intently at their desks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

Nor are the trading desks that scour the market for the crude to feed them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

At Rome's occupied Morgagni high school, where students have barricaded entrances with desks, protesters pointed to the crumbling infrastructure as evidence of neglect.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

It was there I encountered the stories about government workers being ordered back to their desks by the Giuliani administration in the hot zone.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

The response is a whole room full of kids looking at their desks, or out the window, or anywhere but up front.

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

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