bureau
/bjuə'rou/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- 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
- furniture with drawers for keeping clothes
- an administrative unit of government
- the Central Intelligence Agency
- the Census Bureau
- Office of Management and Budget
- Tennessee Valley Authority