desktop

American  

[desk-top] / ˈdɛskˌtɒp /

adjective

1. small or compact enough to fit or be used on a desk.

   a desktop calendar.

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noun

1. the surface of a desk.

2. Computers.

   1. Also called desktop computer.  a computer that is not portable, often consisting of a CPU, monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

   2. the primary display screen of a graphical user interface, on which various icons represent files, groups of files, programs, or the like, which can be moved, accessed, added to, put away, or thrown away in ways analogous to the handling of file folders, documents, notes, etc., on a real desk.

desktop British  

/ ˈdɛskˌtɒp /

noun

1. the main screen display on a personal computer, from which windows may be opened and programs run

2. (modifier) denoting a computer system, esp for word processing, that is small enough to use at a desk

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Etymology

Origin of desktop

First recorded in 1925–30; desk + top ¹

Example Sentences

The researchers explain this effect using an analogy to a Newton's cradle, the desktop device with a row of suspended metal balls.

From Science Daily

The hidebound company, overly reliant on mainframe computers, had been out-hustled by nimbler makers of desktop computers and software.

From The Wall Street Journal

Micron is a leader in the markets for dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, used in desktop computers and servers, and for flash memory, found in smartphones and solid-state hard drives.

From Barron's

Micron is a leader in the markets for dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, which is used in desktop computers and servers, and for flash memory, found in smartphones and solid-state hard drives.

From Barron's

As if unwilling to reveal anything of his inner self, Dillon kept his desktop bare save for a pencil, a notebook and a telephone.

From The Wall Street Journal