bureau

bureau — noun

1. an office or company that gathers facts for people or gives useful information a

1.nounB2
Definition

an office or company that gathers facts for people or gives useful information about a place, job, or subject

Example

The tourist bureau gave us a free map of Tainan's old streets.

collocation: tourist bureau

A local employment bureau matched Hana with a bakery job near home.

collocation: employment bureau

Common collocations
  • tourist bureau
  • employment bureau
  • news bureau
  • information bureau
Synonyms
  • agency

    broader; often arranges services as well as giving information

  • office

    more general; not necessarily focused on public information

  • center

    often stresses the public place rather than the organization

Grammar Patterns

tourist bureau

employment bureau

news bureau

Usage Note

Usually appears with a word naming the field or audience, such as tourist, employment, news, or information. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense can be private or service-based, not a formal arm of government.

Common Mistakes

We visited the bureau of jobs downtown.
We visited the employment bureau downtown.
English usually puts the field word before 'bureau' in fixed names.

2. a department in a government that manages one area of public work

2.nounC1
Definition

a department in a government that manages one area of public work

Example

The Census Bureau counts every household in the country every ten years.

proper name: the [Name] Bureau

After the storm, the city bureau checked damaged bridges across the river.

bureau handling local public work

Common collocations
  • Census Bureau
  • government bureau
  • labor bureau
  • city bureau
Synonyms
  • department

    common general term for one part of a government

  • agency

    often used for an official body with a specific task

  • office

    can mean the place or department, but sounds less formal

Grammar Patterns

the [Name] Bureau

government bureau

labor bureau

Usage Note

Often capitalized in official names, especially in American English. Distinguish from sense 1: sense 2 is part of the state and has legal duties, while sense 1 mainly gives a service or information.

Common Mistakes

She works for a bureau government.
She works for a government bureau.
the field or type normally comes before 'bureau'.

3. a cabinet-like desk whose front panel drops open to make a place for writing

3.nounC1
Definition

a cabinet-like desk whose front panel drops open to make a place for writing

Example

Noa lowered the bureau lid and wrote three postcards before dinner.

bureau lid dropping open

In the guest room, the bureau opened into a desk for writing letters.

bureau opening into a desk

Common collocations
  • bureau lid
  • bureau drawer
  • writing bureau
Synonyms
  • writing desk

    closest everyday equivalent

  • desk

    broader; does not suggest the folding front

  • secretary desk

    a specific type name, especially in American English

Grammar Patterns

bureau lid

write at a bureau

Usage Note

This sense refers to an older style piece with a drop front used for writing. Distinguish from sense 4, which is mainly for storing clothes and other household items.

4. a piece of bedroom furniture with several drawers for clothes and other personal

4.nounC1
Definition

a piece of bedroom furniture with several drawers for clothes and other personal things

Example

Bao folded the clean shirts and placed them in the bedroom bureau.

collocation: bedroom bureau

A cracked mirror hung above the bureau beside the baby's crib.

bureau in a bedroom scene

Common collocations
  • bureau drawer
  • bedroom bureau
  • pine bureau
Synonyms
  • dresser

    common North American word for similar bedroom furniture

  • chest

    short for a chest of drawers; broader and very common

  • chest of drawers

    the clearest full name for this furniture sense

Grammar Patterns

bureau drawer

bedroom bureau

Usage Note

Chiefly North American for a chest of drawers, especially in a bedroom. Distinguish from sense 3: this sense is for storage, not for writing.

Common Mistakes

My socks are in the bureau box.
My socks are in the bureau drawer.
the parts that pull out are called drawers.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

For noun/2, bureau usually names an official unit with a clearly limited job, especially in American government names such as the Census Bureau. Department is broader and often sounds higher-level or more formal, as in a finance department or the Department of Health. Agency also fits public bodies, but it often suggests a separate body created for a specific task. Office is the loosest word and may refer either to the organization or to the room where people work. A simple memory aid: a bureau handles one defined field, an agency carries out a mission, and an office is the general everyday label.

bureau ↗department ↗agency ↗office ↗

Etymology

Old FrenchFrenchEnglish

English borrowed bureau from French. In French, it first referred to a rough wool cloth used to cover a desk. The name then shifted from the cloth to the desk itself, later to the room or office around it, and finally to an official department. That history explains why bureau can still mean both a kind of desk and an organization.