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

Explanation

A desktop is the surface of a desk, the part you use for writing or resting your laptop on. Particularly tidy people might need to clean the entire desktop before getting any work done. Your literal desktop — the top or surface of your desk — inspired the name for your computer desktop, the home screen on which you organize icons representing your files. When you're using a computer, you generally start from your desktop, opening windows or clicking on a file. When desktop is used as an adjective, it typically means "meant to be kept and used on your desk," like a desktop computer or a desktop scanner.

Example Sentences

Last week, OpenAI announced that it was combining its ChatGPT desktop app, coding tool Codex and browser into one “superapp.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

In fact, it was a remote desktop application that enabled Lam and his conspirators to transfer 4,000 bitcoins to themselves, Stratton said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

Software companies are developing their own agents; Salesforce’s Agentforce sales rose 82%, yet desktop agents pose significant data and security risks.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

Craig Bellamy takes a seat at his desk and connects his laptop to a projector showing its contents on the opposite wall, the desktop background barely visible behind a maze of files and folders.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

She’d reached the desktop, with the background picture of all three kids at Halloween last year: Finn as a clown, Emma as a ninja, and Chess as a skeleton.

From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix