desk

noun

ˈdesk 

1

a

: a table, frame, or case with a sloping or horizontal surface especially for writing and reading and often with drawers, compartments, and pigeonholes

b

: a reading table or lectern from which a liturgical service is read

c

: a table, counter, stand, or booth at which a person works

2

a

: a division of an organization specializing in a particular phase of activity

the Russian desk in the Department of State

b

: a seating position according to rank in an orchestra

a first-desk violinist

Synonyms

• agency
• arm
• branch
• bureau
• department
• division
• office
• service

Examples of desk in a Sentence

an information desk at an airport

We will ask for directions to the restaurant at the front desk.

We went to the reception desk to check into our room.

Recent Examples on the Web

Whitmer press secretary Stacey LaRouche did not say whether Whitmer wants to see the FOIA bills land on the governor's desk before the end of the year. —Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press, 5 Dec. 2024

Sitting at his desk behind two 20-ounce cups of Starbucks coffee, one done and the other nearly so, Torbenson said the cases range from the careless to the utterly reckless. —John Diedrich, Journal Sentinel, 5 Dec. 2024

Moreover, remember that the company’s operating systems run most of the computers on every desk and in every home (and a decent proportion of mobile devices, too). —Sandy Carter, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024

At his imaginary office at the CDC, Kennedy has already laid out the tarot cards on the desk and with no scientific evidence to back it up, says the cards read that vaccines are bad. —A.j. Russo, Baltimore Sun, 3 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English deske, dext "reading desk, lectern," borrowed from Medieval Latin descus, desca, variant of discus "raised table, platform," going back to Latin, "discus, kind of plate, gong," borrowed from Greek dískos "discus," in Late Greek also "dish, round mirror, the sun's disk, gong" — more at discus

Note: The e in the British Medieval Latin forms (and subsequent borrowing into Middle English) appears to show influence of the Romance outcome of discus, for which see the note at dish entry 1. The sense "reading desk," presumably originating in monastic usage, is not limited to Britain—compare discus in Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch, which records the meaning in central Europe.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing desk

• cash desk
• city desk
• desk job
• desk jockey
• front desk
• help desk
• news desk
• partners desk
• reading desk
• rolltop desk
• writing desk

Kids Definition

desk

noun

ˈdesk 

1

a

: a table, frame, or case with a flat or sloping surface especially for writing and reading

b

: a counter at which a person works

2

a

: a specialized division of an organization (as a newspaper)

city desk

b

: a seating position according to rank in an orchestra