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View synonyms for bureau

bureau

[ byoor-oh ]

noun

, plural bu·reaus, bu·reaux [byoor, -ohz].
  1. a chest of drawers, often with a mirror at the top.
  2. a division of a government department or an independent administrative unit.
  3. an office for collecting or distributing news or information, coordinating work, or performing specified services; agency:

    a travel bureau; a news bureau.

  4. Chiefly British. a desk or writing table with drawers for papers.


bureau

/ ˈbjʊərəʊ /

noun

  1. a writing desk with pigeonholes, drawers, etc, against which the writing surface can be closed when not in use
  2. a chest of drawers
  3. an office or agency, esp one providing services for the public
    1. a government department
    2. a branch of a government department


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Other Words From

  • subbureau noun plural subbureaus subbureaux

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Word History and Origins

Origin of bureau1

1710–20; < French: desk, office, originally a kind of cloth (used to cover desks, etc.), Anglo-French, Old French burel, equivalent to bur- (probably < *būra, variant of Late Latin burra wool, fluff ; bourrée ) + -el noun suffix

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Word History and Origins

Origin of bureau1

C17: from French: desk, office, originally: type of cloth used for covering desks and tables, from Old French burel , from Late Latin burra shaggy cloth

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Example Sentences

Census Bureau officials said that the agency hopes to deliver state population totals to the commerce secretary by April 30, the original date the bureau set after the count was delayed because of the coronavirus.

The memo — first reported on by ABC News and later confirmed by The Washington Post — is a raw intelligence product, compiling information gathered by the bureau and several other government agencies, an official said.

The mask rested atop the clutter of my teenage son’s bedroom bureau.

“We are hoping that with the joint efforts we have with different travel bureaus and effective governments such as Singapore, we’ll be able to unleash some of the energy for the pent-up demand,” Sun said.

From Fortune

The remaining four board members are high-ranking commanders from each bureau.

The Bureau keeps publicly condemning Pyongyang for the Sony hack.

Back at police headquarters, Chief of Police Michael Floore Sr. ran out of the detective bureau, barking into a walkie talkie.

She had a simple answer to my inquiry about the calls that were never returned—from her or anyone else in the detective bureau.

On the second floor I rang a buzzer at the door of the detective bureau.

FBI spokesman Paul Bresson said that the bureau fully complies with U.S. policy as it relates to ransom payments.

One day Aristide, with an unexpected franc or two in his pocket, stopped in front of a bureau de tabac.

It has two hundred brethren, and every year twelve of these are chosen, who are called “brethren of the bureau of accounts.”

In one of ole Miss's bureau drawers was a large plain linen handkerchief which was never used.

At the bureau he ordered a couple of packs of cards and a supply of drinks and went to his palatial room on the ground floor.

Every team in Rosewater was bespoken for the distinguished occasion, and the reports of the weather bureau were consulted daily.

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burdockbureaucracy