desk
desk
Pronunciation
/dɛsk/.
desk
/d/ - voiced alveolar plosive
/ɛ/ - open-mid front unrounded vowel
/s/ - voiceless alveolar fricative
/k/ - voiceless velar plosive
Word Form Variations
Singular Noun: desk (e.g., "I sat at my desk.")
Plural Noun: desks (e.g., "There were many desks in the classroom.")
While less common in everyday usage, "desk" can also function as a verb:
Base Form/Infinitive: desk (e.g., "To desk a report" - meaning to reject it without further review, particularly in journalism or academic contexts.)
Third-person singular present: desks (e.g., "He desks any article that doesn't meet the initial criteria.")
Present participle: desking (e.g., "The editor is desking several submissions today.")
Simple past/Past participle: desked (e.g., "They desked the proposal immediately.")
Additionally, "desk" can be used as an adjective when it modifies another noun, often in compound forms:
As an adjective in compounds: desk job, desk lamp, desk phone, desk drawer, desk calendar, desk chair, desk clerk, desk jockey.
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
A piece of furniture with a flat or sloping surface and typically drawers, often used for writing, reading, or working with a computer.
Synonyms: workstation, writing table, bureau, escritoire, counter (in some contexts, like a reception desk)
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms; a desk is a specific type of furniture. One could consider other furniture like "chair" or "bed" as contrasting in function, but not as true antonyms.)
A specific section or department within an organization responsible for a particular type of work or service.
Synonyms: station, department, section, counter (e.g., information desk, front desk)
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms; refers to a functional area.)
Verb
(Transitive, informal, often in journalism or academia) To set aside, reject, or postpone a document, proposal, or piece of work without further consideration or action.
Synonyms: shelve, table, dismiss, quash, deep-six (informal)
Antonyms: approve, action, consider, review, green-light
(Intransitive, rare) To work at a desk.
Synonyms: (Often expressed with more specific verbs like) work, study, write, office (as a verb, e.g., "to office for the day")
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms; depends on the action being done away from a desk, e.g., "travel," "stand," "walk")
Adjective
(Used attributively) Relating to, suitable for, or performed at a desk.
Synonyms: office, clerical, sedentary (referring to desk work), stationary
Antonyms: field (e.g., "field work"), mobile, outdoor, active
Examples of Use
Books:
"He shuffled through the papers on his desk, searching for the missing report." (From a novel)
"The detective found a hidden compartment beneath the writing desk." (From a mystery novel)
Newspapers:
"The finance minister spent hours at his desk yesterday, poring over budget proposals." (The Standard)
"A new ergonomic desk design aims to reduce back pain for office workers." (The Guardian)
Online Publications:
"Remote work trends are changing how people set up their home desks." (Forbes.com)
"Apple announced its latest all-in-one desktop computer at the recent developer conference." (TechCrunch.com)
Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:
Film: (Character says) "Leave the documents on my desk." (Heard in a corporate drama film)
Television Series: A scene showing a news anchor at a prominent news desk. (Seen on a news broadcast or drama)
Video Game: Players can customize their in-game character's desk in certain simulation games. (As a customization option in a game like Animal Crossing, The Sims)
Podcast: "Our guest today joins us from his home desk, where he's been writing his latest book." (Heard on a podcast interview)
General Public Discourse:
"I need to clear off my desk before I can start this new project." (Everyday conversation)
"Can you meet me at the front desk in five minutes?" (Common instruction in hotels or offices)
"He's been stuck behind a desk for years and really wants a more active job." (Colloquial expression)
10 Quotes Using Desk
"A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world." (John le Carré)
"If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?" (Laurence J. Peter)
"All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk." (Ronald Reagan)
"People think that I must be a very strange person. This is not correct. I have the heart of a small boy. It is in a glass jar on my desk." (Stephen King)
"My ideas usually come not at my desk writing but in the midst of living." (Anaïs Nin)
"First, I do not sit down at my desk to put into verse something that is already clear in my mind." (C. Day Lewis)
"Happiness is a very small desk and a very big wastebasket." (Robert Orben)
"I get up early in the morning, 4 o'clock, and I sit at my desk and what I do is just dream." (Haruki Murakami)
"The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries." (Kurt Vonnegut Jr., A Man Without a Country)
"If you are a genius, you'll make your own rules, but if not – and the odds are against it – go to your desk no matter what your mood, face the icy challenge of the paper – write." (J. B. Priestley)
Etymology
The word "desk" has a pretty interesting journey through language! It essentially comes from words meaning something flat or a table.
It originated from the Medieval Latin word "desca," which meant "a table to write on." This "desca" itself was a change from the Old Italian word "desco," meaning "table."
Going even further back, "desco" came from the Latin word "discus," which originally meant things like a "dish" or a "disc" (like a circular plate or a quoit, which is a flat ring thrown in a game).
So, the first known use and meaning of "desk" (around the mid-14th century, or roughly 1405 according to some sources like the OED, with Geoffrey Chaucer's writings) was indeed for a piece of furniture specifically designed for reading or writing, often with a flat or sloping surface. It's like the idea of a flat surface for a "dish" or "disc" evolved into a flat surface used for working.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Desk
Here's a list of phrases and idioms using "desk," supplemented with some less common or related phrases:
At one's desk: Engaged in work, typically in an office setting.
Behind the desk: Referring to someone who works at a reception, front desk, or counter.
Clear the desk: To finish all current work or deal with pending tasks.
Desk job: An occupation that primarily involves sitting at a desk, typically in an office.
Desk jockey: (Informal, often slightly derogatory) Someone who spends most of their time working at a desk, implying a lack of physical activity or practical experience.
On the desk: (Referring to documents, items) Placed on one's desk for attention or action.
Pushed/shoved off the desk: (Less common) To be dismissed or ignored, especially a proposal or idea.
Work at a desk: To perform tasks or duties while seated at a desk.
Buried under a desk of paperwork: (Figurative) Overwhelmed with a large amount of administrative work.
Tethered to a desk: (Figurative) Feeling confined or restricted by one's office job or workspace.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of desk from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
