office

of·fice | \ ˈä-fəs

, ˈȯ- \

Definition of office

1a : a special duty, charge, or position conferred by an exercise of governmental authority and for a public purpose : a position of authority to exercise a public function and to receive whatever emoluments may belong to it

b : a position of responsibility or some degree of executive authority

2 : a prescribed form or service of worship specifically, capitalized : divine office

3 : a religious or social ceremonial observance : rite

4a : something that one ought to do or must do : an assigned or assumed duty, task, or role

b : the proper or customary action of something : function

c : something done for another : service

5 : a place where a particular kind of business is transacted or a service is supplied: such as

a : a place in which the functions of a public officer are performed

b : the directing headquarters of an enterprise or organization

c : the place in which a professional person conducts business

6 offices plural, chiefly British : the apartments, attached buildings, or outhouses in which the activities attached to the service of a house are carried on

7a : a major administrative unit in some governments British Foreign Office

b : a subdivision of some government departments Patent Office

Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about office

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Choose the Right Synonym for office

function, office, duty, province mean the acts or operations expected of a person or thing. function implies a definite end or purpose or a particular kind of work. the function of language is two-fold: to communicate emotion and to give information — Aldous Huxley office is typically applied to the function or service associated with a trade or profession or a special relationship to others. they exercise the offices of the judge, the priest, the counsellor — W. E. Gladstone duty applies to a task or responsibility imposed by one's occupation, rank, status, or calling. it is the judicial duty of the court, to examine the whole case — R. B. Taney province applies to a function, office, or duty that naturally or logically falls to one. I felt it was not my province to inquire — Anne Brontë

Examples of office in a Sentence

She works at our Chicago office. Are you going to the office today? The supervisor held an informal meeting in his office. Her office is on the top floor near the elevator. He misbehaved in class and was sent to the principal's office. We use the extra bedroom in our house as an office. We stopped by the lawyer's office to pick up some documents. He has been in office for a decade. He was voted out of office. He won the election and will take office at the beginning of the year.

Recent Examples on the Web By the end of the third quarter, Harris's campaign had the highest cash burn rate of any other candidate running for office, spending 122.9% of all dollars donated. — David Mark, Washington Examiner, "Kamala Harris endorses former 2020 rival Joe Biden," 8 Mar. 2020 This calls to question the need for offices much at all in todays internet society for white collar jobs. — cleveland, "Ok, so not me, not you. It’s about us - Letter from the Editor," 7 Mar. 2020 Djigbenou said testing phases for offices typically last a few weeks. — Darcy Costello, The Courier-Journal, "Real ID office in Louisville? New location in 'trial' phase for a few weeks, cabinet says," 6 Mar. 2020 Kim Kardashian West sent a tweet urging Ivey to commute Woods' sentence, and later shared a number for Ivey's office. — Brian Lyman, USA TODAY, "Alabama executes man as accomplice in 2004 police murders," 6 Mar. 2020 Out back, engineers build scale replicas of upcoming water features against photorealistic backdrops of their eventual homes, places like shopping malls, hotels, and office buildings. — Daniel Oberhaus, Wired, "The Factory Where They Engineer Massive Water Art Pieces," 6 Mar. 2020 For employees at workplaces where customers typically expect a handshake and may initiate one, at a car dealership or mortgage lender’s office, for example, this might be an idea worth stealing, at least in the time of coronavirus. — Lila Maclellan, Quartz at Work, "How to politely decline a handshake," 6 Mar. 2020 The best excuse for an office is people bouncing ideas off one another, and the best excuse for a society is just people bouncing off one another, something that’s getting harder right now, as events start cancelling. — Bill Mckibben, The New Yorker, "What Can the Coronavirus Teach Us?," 5 Mar. 2020 For his part, Bush hinted of aspirations for higher office late last year in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. — Robert T. Garrett, Dallas News, "Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says Alamo repairs are ‘off track,’ hits George P. Bush for poor oversight," 5 Mar. 2020

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

History and Etymology for office

Middle English, "position of authority, duties of a position, proper function, ecclesiastical service, space used for business or domestic functions," borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin officium "beneficial act in fulfillment of an obligation, duty, functions in a position, post" (Late Latin, "ecclesiastical service"), contraction of opificium (attested in sense "constructive work"), from opi- (base of opis, *ops "power, ability" and oper-, opus "work, effort") + facere "to make, do, bring about" + -ium, deverbal suffix of function or state — more at opus, do entry 1

Note: Though officium is formally a contraction of opificium, their senses diverge, the latter noun maintaining a transparent relation to the agent noun opifex "craftsman, artificer."

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Cite this Entry

“Office.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/office. Accessed 5 Jun. 2020.

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More Definitions for office

office

noun

English Language Learners Definition of office

: a building or room in which people work at desks doing business or professional activities

: a room with a desk where a particular person works

chiefly US : a building or room where a doctor, lawyer, etc., works and meets with patients or clients

See the full definition for office in the English Language Learners Dictionary

office

noun

of·fice | \ ˈȯ-fəs

Kids Definition of office

1 : a place where business is done or a service is supplied a doctor's office

2 : a special duty or position and especially one of authority in government My uncle wants to run for office.

office

noun

of·fice

Legal Definition of office

1 : a special duty, charge, or position conferred by governmental authority and for a public purpose qualified to hold public office broadly : a special duty or position of authority hold an office of trust

2 : a place where business or administration is conducted or services are performed

3 : a special administrative department or unit office of the district attorney

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