bureaus

noun

variants also bureaux
plural of bureau
as in agencies
a large unit of a governmental, business, or educational organization the federal revenue bureau

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bureaus For stronger protection, consider a credit freeze with all three major bureaus. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 2 Aug. 2026 Register fraud alerts with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, the three main credit reporting bureaus. — Brian Sloan,dan Avery, CNBC, 6 July 2026 With each emergency, laws were enacted, bureaus created, budgets enlarged, and civil liberties restricted. — Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 1 July 2026 The double shooting is under investigation by the sheriff’s homicide and internal affairs bureaus. — City News Service, Daily News, 21 June 2026 The credit bureaus have said that many recent complaints are illegitimate, including a large volume filed by third-party credit repair organizations that charge customers to challenge negative information on their reports. — Joel Jacobs, ProPublica, 4 May 2026 Groups such as the National Agricultural Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation and 12 state farm bureaus have backed Monsanto’s petition to the Supreme Court. — Christiana Freitag, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026 Business Wire has about 30 bureaus worldwide and approximately 500 employees. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Apr. 2026 Tomkins began his career editing news summaries for Radio Free Europe’s foreign bureaus before joining Newsweek in 1957 as a foreign news editor. — News Desk, Artforum, 22 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bureaus
  1. agencies
  2. departments
  3. offices
  4. services
Noun
  • Both agencies have seen a notable decline in Republican support.
    — Morgan Chalfant, semafor.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • While international observers initially blamed Moscow for the blasts, investigators later found suggestions that Ukrainian state security agencies may have been involved — even though Ukraine counts Germany as one of its closest allies.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of agencies
Noun
  • Only 27% of Americans view both the State and Justice departments positively, and while Republicans’ approval of those departments has held relatively steady, it’s also below 50%.
    — Morgan Chalfant, semafor.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Getting different departments to work together is another challenge.
    — Inzamam Rashid, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of departments
Noun
  • Another major collapse occurred at the provincial government headquarters in Coclé, where an entire side of the building gave way, exposing the offices inside.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Some offices, schools, and the Expo 2030 construction site near the airport were evacuated on Thursday.
    — Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of offices
Noun
  • One of the consultants, Denver transportation attorney Brett Butzin, billed almost $130,000 for flights in a single year while charging almost $600 an hour for his services.
    — Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Coming out of the pandemic, services companies had excess equipment and were eyeing growth.
    — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of services

Browse Nearby Words

bureaucrats
bureaus
burg
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bureaus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bureaus. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of zenith

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All