desktop

[desk-top]

adjective

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

   a desktop calendar.

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

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of desktop¹

First recorded in 1925–30; desk + top ¹

Example Sentences

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

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

As I stepped into the room, I witnessed something that I’d never seen before: a couple of dozen Colored women sitting at desks, typing on Monroe or Friden desktop calculating machines.

Read more on Literature

The rules apply to any device on which a programme is viewed, including a TV, desktop or laptop computer, mobile phone, tablet, games console or set-top box.

Read more on BBC

"Graphic design has always developed in step with technological change - from letterpress to phototypesetting to desktop publishing and now Gen AI," she said.

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Comet is limited to desktops for now, though Perplexity Chief Executive Aravind Srinivas told me a mobile app will be ready in less than two months.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal