office

noun of·fice \ ˈä-fəs , ˈȯ- \

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

Definition of office

1 a : 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

4 a : 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

7 a : a major administrative unit in some governments

British Foreign Office

b : a subdivision of some government departments

Patent Office

See office defined for English-language learners

See office defined for kids

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 of office from the Web

In just his first three months in office, Pruitt spent more than $800,000 on this security detail.

— luke darby, GQ, "Scott Pruitt Is Blowing Millions of EPA Dollars on His Personal Security," 7 Apr. 2018
Park Chung-hee's successors, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, both ex-army generals, spent time in jail for bribery, treason, munity and other charges after leaving office.

— hyung-jin kim and kim tong-hyung, chicagotribune.com, "Disgraced South Korean ex-president gets 24-years in prison for massive corruption scandal," 6 Apr. 2018
Park Chung-hee’s successors, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, both ex-army generals, spent time in jail for bribery, treason, munity and other charges after leaving office.

— Time, "Ousted South Korean President Park Geun-Hye Has Been Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison," 6 Apr. 2018
Sam Greene/The Enquirer Travis Steele certainly didn't waste any time after taking office as Xavier basketball's new head coach.

— patrick brennan, Cincinnati.com, "Xavier basketball, Travis Steele add Ferris State's Zach Hankins on the grad transfer market," 6 Apr. 2018
The White House’s intern system has been flawed for longer than Trump has been in office.

— taylor crumpton, Teen Vogue, "I Already Knew What the White House Intern Photo Showed Me," 6 Apr. 2018
Rather, the city hopes to complete roughly a third of the lanes by 2020, before the mayor leaves office.

— joshua emerson smith, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Mayor Faulconer nixes short-lived plan for premium bike lanes downtown," 5 Apr. 2018
Since Trump took office, several business groups have grappled with how to convince the White House that NAFTA isn’t just a good deal for border states but for the country as a whole.

— julián aguilar, star-telegram, "Abbott urges Trump administration to protect two key NAFTA provisions | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 4 Apr. 2018
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, here reviewing the Self-Defense Forces in 2016, has been an advocate for the military since taking office in 2012, raising spending for six straight years and easing restrictions on its scope of action.

— alastair gale, WSJ, "Japan Shakes Up Army to Tackle Rising Threats," 4 Apr. 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of 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, ¹do

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."

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

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office Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of 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

OFFICE Defined for English Language Learners

office

noun

Definition of office for English Language Learners

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