DESK

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does desk mean? 

• DESK (noun)
  The noun DESK has 1 sense:

1. a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments

  Familiarity information: DESK used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DESK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("desk" is a kind of...):

table (a piece of furniture having a smooth flat top that is usually supported by one or more vertical legs)

Meronyms (parts of "desk"):

drawer (a boxlike container in a piece of furniture; made so as to slide in and out)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "desk"):

davenport (a small decorative writing desk)

escritoire; secretaire; secretary; writing table (a desk used for writing)

writing desk (a desk for writing (usually with a sloping top))

 Context examples 

It was the same with the places at the desks and forms.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

He greeted us with a stately courtesy and seated himself at his desk, his red beard streaming down on the table.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Before the one window, looking out on the tiny front porch, was the kitchen table that served as desk, library, and type-writing stand.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Holmes walked over to his desk, took out a little triangular piece of gold with three gems in it, and threw it down upon the table.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You have a desk in your office?

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But Jo got out her desk and began to overhaul her half-finished manuscripts.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

If we were in the other room, said Emma, if I had my writing-desk, I am sure I could produce a specimen.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

He folded the letter, locked it in his desk, and again went out.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The researchers have found that it did not matter whether a person's smartphone was turned on or off, or whether it was lying face up or face down on a desk.

(Presence of Smartphone Reduces Brain Power, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

You're working at your desk, trying to ignore the tingling or numbness you've had for some time in your hand and wrist.

(Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)