desk

noun

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

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 The quantitative and qualitative work has been married with industry research to conclude that the city could make do with roughly 29 percent less space if employees in some departments share smaller desks. Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2024 Near a desk by the balcony were two kafigeledjo figures from the Senufo people of West Africa. Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024 Bove points to free online calculators to determine how to position your standing desk based on your height. Claire Peltier, ABC News, 18 Mar. 2024 McMurtry’s domino set sits on a coffee table, his typewriter on a desk in the corner. Jeff Chu, Travel + Leisure, 15 Mar. 2024 In the eighth grade at Dolores Mission Catholic School in Boyle Heights, Debora threw a desk after a teacher tore his artwork in front of his classmates. Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2024 Some are just scrounged out closets and out of parents' desk drawers. Chris Velazco, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024 The parties could last several days and nights, with gamers crowded together among heavy computers and fast food boxes, crashing underneath their desks in sleeping bags and taking breaks to pull pranks on each other or watch movies. Steffi Cao, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024 Kirkpatrick added that staffers sometimes come into work and find rat droppings on their desks. Emma Colton, Fox News, 13 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'desk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of desk was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near desk

Cite this Entry

“Desk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/desk. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

desk

noun
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

More from Merriam-Webster on desk

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