bureau
Americannoun
plural
bureaus, bureaux-
a chest of drawers, often with a mirror at the top.
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a division of a government department or an independent administrative unit.
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an office for collecting or distributing news or information, coordinating work, or performing specified services; agency.
a travel bureau; a news bureau.
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Chiefly British. a desk or writing table with drawers for papers.
noun
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a writing desk with pigeonholes, drawers, etc, against which the writing surface can be closed when not in use
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a chest of drawers
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an office or agency, esp one providing services for the public
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a government department
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a branch of a government department
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Other Word Forms
- subbureau noun
Etymology
Origin of bureau
1710–20; < French: desk, office, originally a kind of cloth (used to cover desks, etc.), Anglo-French, Old French burel, equivalent to bur- (probably < *būra, variant of Late Latin burra wool, fluff ; bourrée ) + -el noun suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There are fewer people in the bureau, which has offices dispersed across the country, and they’re trying to tackle the same scale of data as they do in normal times.
From Slate • Apr. 3, 2026
Jason Donner, who worked at the network’s Washington bureau as a reporter and producer was fired on Sept. 28, 2022, two days after calling in sick.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026
He joined the Axel Springer-owned Politico as executive vice president in 2024, after spending a decade as ABC News’s Washington bureau chief.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
Evidence that hedge funds were reducing their borrowing around this time can be found in data presented by the Office of Financial Research, an independent government bureau that reports to the Treasury Department.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026
But he clearly relished being part of the bureau, being swept up in events greater than himself.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
