desk
[desk]
- an article of furniture having a broad, usually level, writing surface, as well as drawers or compartments for papers, writing materials, etc.
- a frame for supporting a book from which the service is read in a church.
- a pulpit.
- 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.
- 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.
- a stand used to support sheet music; music stand.
- (in an orchestra) a seat or position assigned by rank (usually used in combination): a first-desk flutist.
Show More
- of or relating to a writing desk: a desk drawer.
- of a size or form suitable for use on a desk: desk dictionary.
- 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.
Show More
Origin of desk
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for desk
Contemporary Examples
I was sick in street gutters, onto my desk, at dinners with friends.
President Harry Truman kept a sign on his desk that read: “The Buck Stops Here.”
While the desk sergeant ran a background check, he was roughed up by another officer in the lock-up.
She suggested that Gregory stack newspapers on his desk to give the set an intimate, coffeehouse feel.
David Gregory's 'Meet the Press' Eviction Exposed in Washingtonian TakedownLloyd Grove
December 23, 2014
The man behind the desk is a fictional character—a ferocious patriot exposing the limits of rigid ideology.
Historical Examples
He went over to the desk and began to scribble a name on the pad of paper.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
"I knew he'd plunge," he said, taking the chair proffered him, near Shepler's desk.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
Then he walked carelessly across to the desk and asked for his bill.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
For a time Grace sat at her desk with the letter in her hand.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton CampusJessie Graham Flower
He found Austin sitting on the chair by his desk, resting his chin on his elbow.
VivietteWilliam J. Locke
desk
- a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
- a service counter or table in a public building, such as a hotelinformation desk
- a support, lectern, or book rest for the book from which services are read in a church
- the editorial section of a newspaper, etc, responsible for a particular subjectthe news desk
- a music stand shared by two orchestral players
- these two players
- (modifier)
- made for use at a deska desk calendar
- done at a deska desk job
Show More
Word Origin
C14: from Medieval Latin desca table, from Latin discus disc, dish
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
Word Origin and History for desk
n.
mid-14c., from Medieval Latin desca "table to write on" (mid-13c.), from Latin discus "quoit, platter, dish," from Greek diskos. The Medieval Latin is perhaps via Italian desco. Used figuratively of office or clerical work since 1797; desk job is first attested 1965.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper