OFFICE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does office mean? 

• OFFICE (noun)
  The noun OFFICE has 7 senses:

1. place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed

2. an administrative unit of government

3. the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group

4. (of a government or government official) holding an office means being in power

5. professional or clerical workers in an office

6. a religious rite or service prescribed by ecclesiastical authorities

7. a job in an organization

  Familiarity information: OFFICE used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OFFICE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

business office; office

Context example:

he rented an office in the new building

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

business establishment; place of business (an establishment (a factory or an assembly plant or retail store or warehouse etc.) where business is conducted, goods are made or stored or processed or where services are rendered)

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

box office; ticket booth; ticket office (the office where tickets of admission are sold)

countinghouse (office used by the accountants of a business)

government office (an office where government employees work)

central office; headquarters; home base; home office; main office ((usually plural) the office that serves as the administrative center of an enterprise)

life office (life assurance office)

loan office (an office where loans are negotiated and repaid)

newsroom (an office in which news is processed by a newspaper or news agency or television or radio station)

shipping office (the office of a shipping agent; an office where seamen are hired)

Holonyms ("office" is a part of...):

office block; office building (a building containing offices where work is done)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An administrative unit of government

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

agency; authority; bureau; federal agency; government agency; office

Context example:

Tennessee Valley Authority

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

administrative body; administrative unit (a unit with administrative responsibilities)

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

executive agency (an agency of the executive branch of government)

FDA; Food and Drug Administration (a federal agency in the Department of Health and Human Services established to regulate the release of new foods and health-related products)

CDC; Center for Disease Control and Prevention (a federal agency in the Department of Health and Human Services; located in Atlanta; investigates and diagnoses and tries to control or prevent diseases (especially new and unusual diseases))

Counterterrorist Center; CTC (an agency that helps the Director of Central Intelligence coordinate counterterrorist efforts in order to preempt and disrupt and defeat terrorist activities at the earliest possible stage)

Nonproliferation Center; NPC (an agency that serves as the focal point for all Intelligence Community activities related to nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their missile delivery systems)

Bureau of the Census; Census Bureau (the bureau of the Commerce Department responsible for taking the census; provides demographic information and analyses about the population of the United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; NOAA (an agency in the Department of Commerce that maps the oceans and conserves their living resources; predicts changes to the earth's environment; provides weather reports and forecasts floods and hurricanes and other natural disasters related to weather)

National Climatic Data Center; NCDC (the part of NOAA that maintains the world's largest active archive of weather data)

National Weather Service (the federal agency in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that is responsible for weather forecast and preparation of weather maps)

Technology Administration (an agency in the Department of Commerce that works with United States industries to promote competitiveness and maximize the impact of technology on economic growth)

National Institute of Standards and Technology; NIST (an agency in the Technology Administration that makes measurements and sets standards as needed by industry or government programs)

National Technical Information Service; NTIS (an agency in the Technology Administration that is a primary resource for government-funded scientific and technical and engineering and business related information)

DARPA; Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (the central research and development organization for the United States Department of Defense; responsible for developing new surveillance technologies since 9/11)

Department of Defense Laboratory System; LABLINK (a defense laboratory that provides essential services in fundamental science for national security and environmental protection and provides technologies that contribute to industrial competitiveness)

Department of Energy Intelligence; DOEI (an agency that collects political and economic and technical information about energy matters and makes the Department of Energy's technical and analytical expertise available to other members of the Intelligence Community)

PHS; United States Public Health Service (an agency that serves as the office of Surgeon General; includes agencies whose mission is to improve the public health)

National Institutes of Health; NIH (an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services whose mission is to employ science in the pursuit of knowledge to improve human health; is the principal biomedical research agency of the federal government)

BJA; Bureau of Justice Assistance (the bureau in the Department of Justice that assists local criminal justice systems to reduce or prevent crime and violence and drug abuse)

BJS; Bureau of Justice Statistics (the agency in the Department of Justice that is the primary source of criminal justice statistics for federal and local policy makers)

Immigration and Naturalization Service; INS (an agency in the Department of Justice that enforces laws and regulations for the admission of foreign-born persons to the United States)

United States Border Patrol; US Border Patrol (the mobile law enforcement arm of the Immigration and Naturalization Service that detects and prevents illegal entry of aliens into the United States)

Bureau of Diplomatic Security; DS (the bureau in the State Department that is responsible for the security of diplomats and embassies overseas)

Foreign Service (the part of the State Department that supplies diplomats for the United States embassies and consulates around the world)

Bureau of Intelligence and Research; INR (an agency that is the primary source in the State Department for interpretive analyses of global developments and focal point for policy issues and activities of the Intelligence Community)

FWS; United States Fish and Wildlife Service; US Fish and Wildlife Service (an agency in the Department of the Interior that conserves and protects fish and wildlife and their habitats; assesses the environmental impact of pesticides and nuclear power site and hydroelectric dams and thermal pollution)

National Park Service (an agency of the Interior Department responsible for the national parks)

Financial Management Service (the federal agency in the Treasury Department that manages the government's disbursement and collection systems and provides central accounting and financial reporting)

Office of Intelligence Support; OIS (agency that oversees the intelligence relationships of the Treasury's offices and bureaus and provides a link between the Intelligence Community and officials responsible for international economic policy)

Comptroller of the Currency (the agency of the Treasury Department responsible for controlling the currency)

Bureau of Customs; Customs Bureau; Customs Service; USCB (the agency of the Treasury Department that enforces import tariffs)

Bureau of Engraving and Printing (the agency of the Treasury Department that produces currency)

Internal Revenue Service; IRS (the bureau of the Treasury Department responsible for tax collections)

FAA; Federal Aviation Administration (an agency in the Department of Transportation that is responsible for the safety of civilian aviation)

Transportation Security Administration; TSA (an agency established in 2001 to safeguard United States transportation systems and insure safe air travel)

GAO; Government Accounting Office; United States Government Accounting Office (an independent nonpartisan federal agency that acts as the investigative arm of Congress making the executive branch accountable to Congress and the government accountable to citizens of the United States)

Navy; United States Navy; US Navy; USN (the navy of the United States of America; the agency that maintains and trains and equips combat-ready naval forces)

U. S. Coast Guard; United States Coast Guard; US Coast Guard (an agency of the Department of Transportation responsible for patrolling shores and facilitating nautical commerce)

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division; NAWCWPNS (the principal agency of the United States Navy for research and development for air warfare and missile weapon systems)

Naval Special Warfare; NSW (the agency that provides units to conduct unconventional and counter-guerilla warfare)

Naval Surface Warfare Center; NSWC (the agency that provides scientific and engineering and technical support for all aspects of surface warfare)

Naval Underwater Warfare Center; NUWC (the agency that provides scientific and engineering and technical support for submarine and undersea warfare systems)

Office of Naval Intelligence; ONI (the military intelligence agency that provides for the intelligence and counterintelligence and investigative and security requirements of the United States Navy)

Marine Corps Intelligence Activity; MCIA (an agency of the United States Marine Corps that provides responsive and broad intelligence support for the worldwide Marine Corps organization)

Air Force; U. S. Air Force; United States Air Force; US Air Force; USAF (the airforce of the United States of America; the agency that defends the United States through control and exploitation of air and space)

AFISR; Air Force Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance; Air Force ISR (an agency focused on ensuring that the United States military attains information superiority; operates worldwide ground sites and an array of airborne reconnaissance and surveillance platforms)

independent agency (an agency of the United States government that is created by an act of Congress and is independent of the executive departments)

Advanced Research and Development Activity; ARDA (an agency of the Intelligence Community that conducts advanced research and development related to information technology)

Defense Logistics Agency (a logistics combat support agency in the Department of Defense; provides worldwide support for military missions)

Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service; DRMS (the organization in the Defense Logistics Agency that inventories and evaluates and sells reusable United States government surplus)

Defense Technical Information Center; DTIC (the agency in the Department of Defense that provides scientific and technical information to federal agencies and their contractors)

law enforcement agency (an agency responsible for insuring obedience to the laws)

Occupational Safety and Health Administration; OSHA (a government agency in the Department of Labor to maintain a safe and healthy work environment)

organ (a government agency or instrument devoted to the performance of some specific function)

Patent and Trademark Office Database; Patent Office (the government bureau in the Department of Commerce that keeps a record of patents and trademarks and grants new ones)

Government Printing Office; GPO; United States Government Printing Office; US Government Printing Office (an agency of the legislative branch that provides printing and binding services for Congress and the departments and establishments of the federal government)

National Guard Bureau; NGB (the agency that administers the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard; provides liaison between the Army and the Air Force and various National Guard units)

Army; U. S. Army; United States Army; US Army; USA (the army of the United States of America; the agency that organizes and trains soldiers for land warfare)

AI; Army Intelligence (an agency of the United States Army responsible for providing timely and relevant and accurate and synchronized intelligence to tactical and operational and strategic level commanders)

Ballistic Missile Defense Organization; BMDO (an agency in the Department of Defense that is responsible for making ballistic missile defense a reality)

Defense Information Systems Agency; DISA (a combat support agency in the Department of Defense responsible for developing and operating and supporting information systems to serve the needs of the President and the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff)

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; NGA (a combat support agency that provides geographic intelligence in support of national security)

Casualty Care Research Center; CCRC (an agency in the Department of Defense that is a national center for research on all aspects of injury control and casualty care)

Federal Housing Administration; FHA (the federal agency in the Department of Housing and Urban Development that insures residential mortgages)

local authority (an administrative unit of local government)

Instance hyponyms:

AFRL; Air Force Research Laboratory (a United States Air Force defense laboratory responsible for discovering and developing and integrating fighting technologies for aerospace forces)

AHPCRC; Army High Performance Computing Research Center (a United States defense laboratory to conduct research in high-performance computing for defense technology applications; a partnership of government and university and industry)

Naval Research Laboratory; NRL (the United States Navy's defense laboratory that conducts basic and applied research for the Navy in a variety of scientific and technical disciplines)

U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory; United States Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory; US Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory; USACIL (a defense laboratory of the Criminal Investigation Command; the United States Army's primary forensic laboratory in support of criminal intelligence)

Derivation:

official (of or relating to an office)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

function; office; part; role

Context example:

play its role

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

duty (work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons)

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

capacity (a specified function)

hat (an informal term for a person's role)

portfolio (the role of the head of a government department)

lieu; place; position; stead (the post or function properly or customarily occupied or served by another)

second fiddle (a secondary role or function)

Derivation:

officiate (perform duties attached to a particular office or place or function)

officiate (act in an official capacity in a ceremony or religious ritual, such as a wedding)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(of a government or government official) holding an office means being in power

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

office; power

Context example:

the power of the president

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

state (the way something is with respect to its main attributes)

Domain category:

administration; governance; governing; government; government activity (the act of governing; exercising authority)

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

executive clemency (the power (usually of a president or governor) to pardon or commute the sentence of someone convicted in that jurisdiction)

war power (an extraordinary power exercised (usually by the executive branch) in the prosecution of a war and involving an extension of the powers that the government normally has in peacetime)

Derivation:

official (having official authority or sanction)

officiate (perform duties attached to a particular office or place or function)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Professional or clerical workers in an office

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

office; office staff

Context example:

the whole office was late the morning of the blizzard

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

staff (personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A religious rite or service prescribed by ecclesiastical authorities

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

the offices of the mass

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

religious rite; rite (an established ceremony prescribed by a religion)

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

Divine Office (canonical prayers recited daily by priests (e.g. the breviary of the Roman Catholic Church))

Little Office (a Roman Catholic office honoring the Virgin Mary; similar to but shorter than the Divine Office)

Office of the Dead (an office read or sung before a burial mass in the Roman Catholic Church)

Derivation:

official (conforming to set usage, procedure, or discipline)

officiate (perform duties attached to a particular office or place or function)

officiate (act in an official capacity in a ceremony or religious ritual, such as a wedding)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A job in an organization

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

berth; billet; office; place; position; post; situation; spot

Context example:

he occupied a post in the treasury

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

business; job; line; line of work; occupation (the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money)

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

academicianship (the position of member of an honorary academy)

accountantship (the position of accountant)

admiralty (the office of admiral)

ambassadorship (the post of ambassador)

apostleship (the position of apostle)

apprenticeship (the position of apprentice)

associateship (the position of associate (as in an office or academy))

attorneyship (the position of attorney)

bailiffship (the office of bailiff)

baronetage (the state of a baronet)

bishopry; episcopate (the office and dignity of a bishop)

cadetship (the position of cadet)

caliphate (the office of a caliph)

captaincy; captainship (the post of captain)

cardinalate; cardinalship (the office of cardinal)

chairmanship (the position of chairman)

chancellorship (the office of chancellor)

chaplaincy; chaplainship (the position of chaplain)

chieftaincy; chieftainship (the position of chieftain)

clerkship (the job of clerk)

commandership; commandery (the position or office of commander)

comptrollership (the position of comptroller)

consulship (the post of consul)

controllership (the position of controller)

councillorship; councilorship (the position of council member)

counsellorship; counselorship (the position of counselor)

curacy (the position of a curate)

curatorship (the position of curator)

custodianship (the position of custodian)

deanery; deanship (the position or office of a dean)

directorship (the position of a director of a business concern)

discipleship (the position of disciple)

editorship (the position of editor)

eldership (the office of elder)

emirate (the office of an emir)

fatherhood (the status of a father)

fatherhood (the status of a religious leader)

foremanship (the position of foreman)

generalcy; generalship (the office and authority of a general)

governorship (the office of governor)

headship (the position of head)

headship (the position of headmaster or headmistress)

hot seat (a difficult position where you are subjected to stress and criticism)

incumbency (the office of an incumbent)

inspectorship (the office of inspector)

instructorship (the position of instructor)

internship (the position of a medical intern)

judgeship; judicature (the position of judge)

khanate (the position of a khan)

lectureship (the post of lecturer)

legateship; legation (the post or office of legate)

legislatorship (the office of legislator)

librarianship (the position of librarian)

lieutenancy (the position of a lieutenant)

magistracy; magistrature (the position of magistrate)

managership (the position of manager)

manhood (the status of being a man)

marshalship (the post of marshall)

mastership (the position of master)

mayoralty (the position of mayor)

messiahship (the position of messiah)

moderatorship (the position of moderator)

overlordship (the position of overlord)

pastorate; pastorship (the position of pastor)

peasanthood (the state of being a peasant)

plum (a highly desirable position or assignment)

praetorship (the office of praetor)

precentorship (the position of precentor)

preceptorship (the position of preceptor)

prefecture (the office of prefect)

prelacy; prelature (the office or station of a prelate)

premiership (the office of premier)

presidency; presidentship (the office and function of president)

primateship (the office of primate)

principalship (the post of principal)

priorship (the office of prior)

proconsulate; proconsulship (the position of proconsul)

proctorship (the position of proctor)

chair; professorship (the position of professor)

protectorship (the position of protector)

public office (a position concerning the people as a whole)

rabbinate (the office or function of a rabbi)

receivership (the office of a receiver)

rectorate; rectorship (the office or station of a rector)

regency (the office of a regent)

residency (the position of physician who is receiving special training in a hospital (usually after completing an internship))

rulership (the position of ruler)

sainthood (the status and dignity of a saint)

secretaryship (the position of secretary)

feudal lordship; seigneury; seigniory (the position and authority of a feudal lord)

senatorship (the office of senator)

sinecure (an office that involves minimal duties)

solicitorship (the position of solicitor)

speakership (the position of Speaker)

stewardship (the position of steward)

studentship (the position of student)

teachership (the position of teacher)

thaneship (the position of thane)

throne (the position and power of an exalted person (a sovereign or bishop) who is entitled to sit in a chair of state on ceremonial occasions)

treasurership (the position of treasurer)

tribuneship (the position of tribune)

trusteeship (the position of trustee)

vice-presidency (the office and function of a vice president)

viceroyship (the position of viceroy)

viziership (the position of vizier)

wardenship (the position of warden)

wardership (the position of warder)

womanhood (the status of a woman)

Derivation:

officiate (perform duties attached to a particular office or place or function)

 Context examples 

After that, things at the office will settle down.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

This operator did his office after a different manner from those of his trade in Europe.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Excuse me, I was looking for the Weekly Volcano office.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Mr. Morse met Martin in the office of the Hotel Metropole.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

“Does he keep a school?” I asked. “No, Trot,” said my aunt. “He keeps an office.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A form of that test often is available in ophthalmologist's offices.

(Predicting Alzheimer's Disease May Be Possible Using Eye Exam, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

He has again and again explained that it is not himself, but his office he wishes to mate.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The head of the European Space Agency’s debris office, Holger Krag, says China’s Tiangong-1 space station will likely fall to Earth between March 30 and April 3.

(Scientists Track Chinese Space Station as It Falls to Earth, VOA)

It may be hospital-based or performed in an office or surgicenter.

(Ambulatory Surgical Procedure, NCI Thesaurus)

An approach to educating physicians in their offices.

(Academic Detailing, NCI Thesaurus)