desktop

noun

desk·top | \ ˈdesk-ˌtäp

Definition of desktop

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the top surface of a desk also : an area or window on a computer screen in which icons are arranged in a manner analogous to objects on top of a desk

2 : a desktop computer

desktop

adjective

Definition of desktop (Entry 2 of 2)

: of a size that can be conveniently used on a desk or table desktop computers — compare laptop — see also desktop publishing

Examples of desktop in a Sentence

Noun

The desktop was covered with books and stacks of papers. He created a new folder on his desktop.

Adjective

She is working on a desktop video project.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The service can be used on a desktop, tablet or Android or IOS device. — Cheryl Winokur Munk, WSJ, "Digital Tools That Teach Children About Philanthropy," 16 Dec. 2018 Use the save function in your eBay app or on desktop. — Marina Liao, Marie Claire, "8 Things to Know Before You Buy or Sell on eBay," 14 Dec. 2018 The traditional Win32 desktop version of Office is the definitive, most capable version of the application. — Peter Bright, Ars Technica, "Microsoft suspends development of touch-friendly Office apps for Windows," 28 Sep. 2018 Users who don’t like the feature can opt out of the replies on the mobile app, Mr. Varma said, and the ability to opt out of the desktop version will be added in the coming weeks. — Douglas Macmillan, WSJ, "Is This Article Worth Reading? Gmail’s Suggested Reply: ‘Haha, Thanks!’," 18 Sep. 2018 In those days, there was no such thing as desktop computers. — Jennifer Bogo, Popular Mechanics, "The Oral History of Apollo 11," 17 July 2018 Keynote live stream: Apple is streaming the event live on its website for desktop and through the Apple Events app on the Apple TV. — Shannon Liao, The Verge, "How to watch Apple’s October iPad Pro and MacBook event," 30 Oct. 2018 One evening last May in Knoxville, Tennessee, during the night of the local primary election, Dave Ball, the assistant IT director for Knox County, settled into the Naugahyde chair of his dusty home office and punched away at his desktop computer. — Benjamin Wofford, Vox, "The midterms are already hacked. You just don’t know it yet.," 25 Oct. 2018 In that context, developing a second version of Office that's also for desktop Windows is superfluous. — Peter Bright, Ars Technica, "Microsoft suspends development of touch-friendly Office apps for Windows," 28 Sep. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Another issue: The participants in the study were using a desktop version of the app in a computer in the clinic—not on their own phones and on their own time. — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, "The FDA Thinks This App Could Help People With Opioid Use Disorder Stay in Recovery," 17 Dec. 2018 The games will be available on @adidasFballUS on both mobile and desktop devices, and will be accompanied by a Twitter timeline with additional coverage and tweets. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "Adidas is partnering with Twitter to stream high school football games," 19 Aug. 2018 For anyone rocking a desktop PC, a new graphics card could be in order. — Ian Paul, PCWorld, "The 5 best deals in Newegg's Early Black Friday Sale," 2 Nov. 2018 Deals on various laptops, desktop PC, monitors, TVs, accessories, etc. — Ars Staff, Ars Technica, "Dealmaster: Memorial Day sales on TVs, laptops, and more are underway [Updated]," 28 May 2018 The third doesn’t exploit any vulnerability at all in Telegram, since (1) developers are clear the desktop version doesn’t provide secret chats and (2) the malware relies on the social engineering of a user. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, "It has been a bad week for encrypted messaging and it’s only Wednesday," 16 May 2018 Microsoft is replacing the desktop version of OneNote with the Windows 10 version in Office 2019, along with making the entire Office suite only work on Windows 10. — Tom Warren, The Verge, "Microsoft Office 2019 kills off OneNote desktop app in favor of Windows 10 version," 18 Apr. 2018 Installing Amazon Assistant will enable desktop notifications for Prime Day deals and offer $5 off a Prime Day order of $25 or more. — Jessica Suriano, azcentral, "How to shop like a pro during Amazon Prime Day," 12 July 2018 The availability of applications in the Store is improving, but for now there remains large functional gaps that only desktop applications can fill. — Peter Bright, Ars Technica, "Latest Windows preview suggests you’ll be able to turn S Mode on and off," 7 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'desktop.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.