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bureau

Pronunciation: /ˈbjʊərəʊ/

Translate bureau | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of bureau

noun (plural bureaux or bureaus /-rəʊz/)

  • 1British a writing desk with drawers and typically an angled top opening downwards to form a writing surface.
  • North American a chest of drawers.
  • 2an office or department for transacting particular business:a news bureau the London bureau of the Washington Post
  • a government department:the intelligence bureau

Origin:

late 17th century: from French, originally 'baize' (used to cover writing desks), from Old French burel, probably from bure 'dark brown', based on Greek purros 'red'

Spelling help

Spell bureau with -eau at the end; the plural can be spelled either bureaus or bureaux (as in the original French).

bureau in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of bureau in the US English dictionary