Meaning of office In English

• 0 a room or part of a building in which people work, especially sitting at tables with computers, phones, etc., usually as a part of a business or other organization:

  • the director's office

  • I didn't leave the office until eight o'clock last night.

  • office equipment

  • office workers

  • They have offices in Paris, London, and Madrid.

  • I have an appointment at the doctor's/dentist's/physician's office on Tuesday.

  • In the days after the accident, the doctor saw him in two office visits.

• 1 a position of authority and responsibility in a government or other organization:

  • the office of vice president

  • As chairman of the association, he held office for over 20 years.

  • The Socialist party has been in office (= governing)/out of office (= not governing) for almost ten years.

  • She's held various offices during her time in government.

  • The new President takes office on January 20th.

• 2 a department of the national government in Britain, or an official government organization:

  • the Home Office

  • the Foreign Office

  • the Office of Fair Trading

• 3 a place in a building where a business is carried on by people working at desks (= special tables) used for writing and for holding telephones and computers:

  • an office building

  • I didn’t leave the office until nearly 8 o’clock.

  • The doctor’s office was filled with people.

• 4 a part of a government department:

  • the Office of Management and Budget

  • the Patent Office

• 5 a position of authority and responsibility in a government or other organization:

  • [ U ] elective office

  • [ C ] the office of executive vice president

  • [ U ] The governor retired after 12 years in office.

• 6 a room or building in which people work, especially sitting at desks with computers, phones, etc., as a part of a business or other organization:

  • The meeting is at their offices in San Diego.

  • local/regional/overseas office It would be so much easier if they delegated the authority to the regional office.

  • set up/open an office The company has just set up an office in New York.

  • Firms eligible for the fund are those that have a branch office in the region.

  • office jobs/work

  • office staff/workers

  • office supplies/equipment/furniture

  • A large open plan office can be made up of one main room with tens or hundreds of people working in the same space.

• 7 someone's place of work:

  • I don't leave the office until 7p.m. most days.

  • He's not in the office right now; he's out at a meeting.

• 8 a room in which one person, or a small number of people, works:

  • in my/your/her, etc. office Please come and see me in my office later.

  • They share an office and consult each other on all important decisions.

  • John uses the spare room at home as an office.

• 9 a room or part of a building where you can get information, buy tickets, etc.:

  • a ticket/enquiry office

• 10 the place where a doctor or dentist sees their patients:

  • She sees most of her patients at her downtown office.

• 11 a position of authority and responsibility in a government or other organization:

  • be in/out of office The new president has now been in office for over a year.

  • hold/leave/take office In the five years she's held office, she has initiated many changes within the Department of Justice.

  • He's held various offices during his time as minister.

  • public/executive/corporate office

• 12 a department of the national government, or an official government organization:

  • the Home Office

  • the Foreign Office

  • the Office of Fair Trading

  • the Office of Thrift Supervision