office

noun

• 1a room, set of rooms, or building used as a place of business for non-manual work: [as modifier]:an office job
• the local centre of a large business:a company which has four US and four European offices
• a room, department, or building used to provide a particular service:a ticket office a Post Office
• North American the consulting room of a professional person: a patient walks in to a doctor’s office

• 2a position of authority or service, typically one of a public nature:the office of chief constable
• [mass noun] tenure of an official position, especially that of a Minister of State or of the party forming the government:a year ago, when the President took office he was ejected from office in 1988
• (Office) the quarters, staff, or collective authority of a particular government department or agency:the Foreign Office

• 3 (usually offices) a service done for another or others:rescued through the good offices of the Italian Ambassador, he was returned safely to England
• dated a duty attaching to one’s position:the offices of a nurse

• 4 (also Divine Office) Christian Church the series of services of prayers and psalms said (or chanted) daily by Catholic priests, members of religious orders, and other clergy.
• a service conducted daily as part of the office:the noon office

• 5 (offices) British dated the parts of a house given over to household work or to storage.
• (usually usual offices) euphemistic a toilet.