Definition

1. Noun:
   • A piece of furniture with drawers for storing clothes: A bureau is a type of chest of drawers, often used in a bedroom.
   • An administrative unit or office of a government or organization: A bureau is a department or agency, especially one that provides a specific service or handles a particular area of work.

Examples

• Noun (Furniture):
  • She keeps her sweaters in the top drawer of the bureau.
  • The antique bureau was made of solid oak.
• Noun (Administrative Unit):
  • He works for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  • The travel bureau provided helpful information about the city.

Advanced Usage

• "bureau chief": The person in charge of a bureau, especially a news bureau.
  • The bureau chief made the final decision on the story.
• "desk bureau": Sometimes used to specify a writing desk with drawers, though "bureau" alone often implies this.
  • He sat at his desk bureau to write the letter.

Variants and Related Words

• Bureaucracy (n): A system of government or management with many complicated rules and departments.
  • Dealing with the bureaucracy can be slow.
• Bureaucrat (n): An official in a bureaucracy.
  • The bureaucrat insisted on following the exact procedure.

Synonyms

• Chest of drawers: (for the furniture meaning).
• Agency, department, office: (for the administrative unit meaning).

Related Phrases

• News bureau: The office or department of a news organization in a particular location.
  • The reporter called the news bureau with the latest update.
• Credit bureau: An agency that collects and provides information about individuals' credit histories.
  • The bank checked her loan application with a credit bureau.

Related Idioms

(This word is not commonly used in idiomatic expressions. Its meanings are typically literal.)

Noun

1. furniture with drawers for keeping clothes
2. an administrative unit of government
   • the Central Intelligence Agency
   • the Census Bureau
   • Office of Management and Budget
   • Tennessee Valley Authority