office

[aw-fis, of-is]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR office ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a room, set of rooms, or building where the business of a commercial or industrial organization or of a professional person is conducted: the main office of an insurance company; a doctor's office.

a room assigned to a specific person or a group of persons in a commercial or industrial organization: Her office is next to mine.

a business or professional organization: He went to work in an architect's office.

the staff or designated part of a staff at a commercial or industrial organization: The whole office was at his wedding.

a position of duty, trust, or authority, especially in the government, a corporation, a society, or the like: She was elected twice to the office of president.

employment or position as an official: to seek office.

the duty, function, or part of a particular person or agency: to act in the office of adviser.

(initial capital letter) an operating agency or division of certain departments of the U.S. Government: Office of Community Services.

(initial capital letter) British. a major administrative unit or department of the national government: the Foreign Office.

Slang. hint, signal, or warning; high sign.

Often offices. something, whether good or bad, done or said for or to another: He obtained a position through the offices of a friend.

Ecclesiastical.

the prescribed order or form for a service of the church or for devotional use.
the services so prescribed.
Also called divine office.the prayers, readings from Scripture, and psalms that must be recited every day by all who are in major orders.
a ceremony or rite, especially for the dead.

a service or task to be performed; assignment; chore: little domestic offices.

offices, Chiefly British.

the parts of a house, as the kitchen, pantry, or laundry, devoted mainly to household work.
the stables, barns, cowhouses, etc., of a farm.

Older Slang. privy.

Origin of office

1200–50; Middle English < Old French < Latin officium service, duty, ceremony, presumably contraction of opificium, equivalent to opi-, combining form akin to opus opus + -fic-, combining form of facere to make, do¹ + -ium -ium

Related formsof·fice·less, adjectiveout·of·fice, nounsub·of·fice, noun

Can be confusedoffice orifice

Synonyms for office

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR office ON THESAURUS.COM

5. post, station, berth, situation. 7. responsibility, charge, trust. 13. work, duty.

Synonym study

5. See appointment.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for office

service, work, commission, job, station, place, post, building, shop, center, facility, agency, factory, bureau, department, suite, store, room, function, duty

Examples from the Web for office

Contemporary Examples of office

How do you feel about Archer and the gang abandoning the cartel and returning to the office?
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS
Marlow Stern
January 8, 2015
Two witnesses outside the Charlie Hebdo office building quoted the Kouachi brothers claiming they were members of al Qaeda.
France Mourns—and Hunts
Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey
January 8, 2015
Granted, James is in an office in the Pentagon, and not on the front lines.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War
Nancy A. Youssef
January 7, 2015
“Change can be exciting,” Cuomo says to Richards as he helps her pack up her office.
Mario Cuomo, Ann Richards Concede to Doritos
The Daily Beast Video
January 2, 2015
Nine new Republican senators will swear their oaths of office.
The Democrats’ Black Hole—and What They Can Do About It
Michael Tomasky
December 31, 2014

Historical Examples of office

He took me right into his office, and I told him what you said, and he'll be ready for you at two o'clock.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
This business attended to, Robert bent his steps to Mr. Paine's office.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
"You will find my father in his office," she said, looking a little disappointed.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
Going to his office, he was fortunate enough to find him in, and unengaged.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
After a year of that, he'll be taken into the office and his hours will be cut down to eight.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for office

office

noun

a room or set of rooms in which business, professional duties, clerical work, etc, are carried out
(as modifier)office furniture; an office boy

(often plural) the building or buildings in which the work of an organization, such as a business or government department, is carried out

a commercial or professional businessthe architect's office approved the plans

the group of persons working in an officeit was a happy office until she came

(capital when part of a name) (in Britain) a department of the national governmentthe Home Office

(capital when part of a name) (in the US)

a governmental agency, esp of the Federal government
a subdivision of such an agency or of a departmentOffice of Science and Technology

a position of trust, responsibility, or duty, esp in a government or organizationthe office of president; to seek office
(in combination)an office-holder

duty or functionthe office of an administrator

(often plural) a minor task or servicedomestic offices

(often plural) an action performed for another, usually a beneficial actionthrough his good offices

a place where tickets, information, etc, can be obtaineda ticket office

Christianity

(often plural)a ceremony or service, prescribed by ecclesiastical authorities, esp one for the dead
the order or form of these
RC Churchthe official daily service
short for divine office

(plural) the parts of a house or estate where work is done, goods are stored, etc

(usually plural) British euphemistic a lavatory (esp in the phrase usual offices)

in office (of a government) in power

out of office (of a government) out of power

the office slang a hint or signal

Word Origin for office

C13: via Old French from Latin officium service, duty, from opus work, service + facere to do

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 office

mid-13c., "a post, an employment to which certain duties are attached," from Anglo-French and Old French ofice "place or function; divine service" (12c. in Old French) or directly from Latin officium "service, kindness, favor; official duty, function, business; ceremonial observance," (in Ecclesiastical Latin, "church service"), literally "work-doing," from ops (genitive opis) "power, might, abundance, means" (related to opus "work;" see opus) + stem of facere "do, perform" (see factitious). Meaning "place for conducting business" first recorded 1560s. Office hours attested from 1841.

Idioms and Phrases with office

office

see box office; front office; land-office business; take office.