office

noun

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

Nearly 40% of the new tax will be paid by owners of commercial property, including offices and apartment buildings, according to an analysis of the legislation by The Wall Street Journal. — Josh Barbanel, WSJ, "New Real-Estate Tax Hits Industry, $2 Million Homes," 3 Apr. 2019 On the recommendation of large anti-trafficking nonprofits, law enforcement, district attorneys’ offices, and major tech companies came out in support. — Teen Vogue, "The 2020 Democratic Candidates Who Voted in Favor of SESTA/FOSTA," 2 Apr. 2019 Area 9 would be built where the landfill’s current offices and maintenance facilities are located. — David Gutman, The Seattle Times, "King County’s landfill has been almost full for two decades. What happens next?," 26 Mar. 2019 The post office and most banks, non-essential government offices, and schools are closed for the day. — Megan Stein, Country Living, "When is Presidents' Day and Why Do We Celebrate It?," 14 Feb. 2019 As of 2017, tech companies occupied 159 million square feet of office and R&D space in Silicon Valley (which includes the San Francisco peninsula), according to real estate company CBRE. — Rani Molla, Recode, "Amazon, Apple and others are expanding out of major tech cities — but mostly to other major tech cities," 20 Dec. 2018 Indeed, this break is the norm for other members of the royal family; Charles, Andrew, Anne, and Edward each have their own offices. — Hadley Keller, House Beautiful, "Why Is Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Household Split From Kate Middleton and Prince William Such a Big Deal?," 15 Mar. 2019 The nun, who recently completed a course on child protection at Rome’s Jesuit university, has been advising her bishop in Ghana on an abuse case, instructing him to invite the victim to his office to hear her story before opening an investigation. — Nicole Winfield, The Seattle Times, "Pope strives to fight cleric sex abuse with Vatican summit," 20 Feb. 2019 This is perfect—especially since there’s no parking at our office in downtown Oakland. — Alissa Walker, Curbed, "Getting around the Bay Area with Chanell Fletcher," 21 Dec. 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.

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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Last Updated

9 Apr 2019

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Time Traveler for office

The first known use of office was in the 13th century

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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