The meaning of BUREAU is writing desk; especially : one having drawers and a slant top. How to use bureau in a sentence. BUREAU meaning: 1.

Understanding the Context

an organization or a business that collects or provides information: 2. a government…. Learn more. Bureau (/ ˈbjʊəroʊ / BURE-oh) may refer to: Bureau dressing table is a combination of a dressing table and a writing desk.

Key Insights

Later models by Chippendale lost the actual bureau. A bureau is an office, organization, or government department that collects and distributes information. ...the Citizens' Advice Bureau. A bureau is an office of a company or organization which has its main office in another town or country. ...the Wall Street Journal's Washington bureau.

Final Thoughts

Another meaning of bureau is "an office or government agency." These two definitions seem unrelated, but the original meaning of the French word bureau, "cloth covering for a desk" helps explain. Definition of bureau noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. Unadapted borrowing from French bureau, earlier "coarse cloth (as desk cover), baize", from Old French burel (“woolen cloth”), diminutive of *bure (compare Middle French bure (“coarse woolen cloth”), French bourre (“hair, fluff”)), from Late Latin burra (“wool, fluff, shaggy cloth, coarse fabric”); akin to Ancient Greek βερβέριον (berbérion, “sh... BUREAU definition: a chest of drawers, often with a mirror at the top. See examples of bureau used in a sentence.