help desk

noun

plural help desks

: a department or person that provides assistance and information usually for electronic or computer problems

Adding a work account is easier than it used to be, but if you're a technophobe, or if your company requires special security settings, call your help desk.

—Jeremy Caplan

—often hyphenated when used before another noun

help-desk questions

Pleas to reset forgotten passwords account for half of help-desk calls to Web sites, says RSA Security.

—Victoria Murphy Barret

Examples of help desk in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Not far from where the two sat, a customer service light flickered on and off, but no employees manned the help desk. —Audrey Pachuta, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026

For more information call [phone]. IT and connectivity support If a student is in need of IT support, the help desk is available Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Students, parents and guardians can call [phone] or submit a help ticket online. —Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2026

ManageEngine organizes pricing across Standard (help desk only), Professional (asset management and help desk), and Enterprise (asset, change, and project management, along with help desk) versions. —John Brandon, PC Magazine, 31 Mar. 2026

Their website, which now only directs visitors to a help desk email, once hosted a schedule of 30 activities per day, making the high ticket cost appear more reasonable. —Grace Bellinghausen, Sun Sentinel, 30 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for help desk

• burlesque
• grotesque
• arabesque
• picaresque
• romanesque
• statuesque
• carnivalesque

Kids Definition

help desk

noun

: a department or person that provides help or information usually for electronic or computer problems