| Library / English Dictionary |
DESK
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("desk" is a kind of...):
table (a piece of furniture having a smooth flat top that is usually supported by one or more vertical legs)
Meronyms (parts of "desk"):
drawer (a boxlike container in a piece of furniture; made so as to slide in and out)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "desk"):
davenport (a small decorative writing desk)
escritoire; secretaire; secretary; writing table (a desk used for writing)
writing desk (a desk for writing (usually with a sloping top))
Context examples:
Springing forward, he hurled his unwieldy weapon at brother Ambrose, and, as desk and monk clattered on to the floor together, he sprang through the open door and down the winding stair.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Sit at this desk and write to my dictation.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
On the desk, among the neat array of papers, a large envelope was uppermost, and bore, in the doctor’s hand, the name of Mr. Utterson.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
He took my letter from his desk and laid it out before him.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
You will need to be very detailed, as there will be many moving parts to the assignment on your desk.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
My memory flashed back to that first thin little volume on my desk, and I saw before me, as though in the concrete, the row of thin little volumes on my library shelf.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Employing this knowledge management system will unify these research communities and will reduce drastically the time and effort needed to create and use existing or new information, making research discoveries possible at a scientist's desk, in addition to the lab.
(Cancer Informatics Infrastructure, NCI Thesaurus)
The middle seat of the chaise was not drawn out, though there were three people to go in it, and his daughter's maid had so crowded it with parcels that Miss Morland would not have room to sit; and, so much was he influenced by this apprehension when he handed her in, that she had some difficulty in saving her own new writing-desk from being thrown out into the street.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
Her plants, her books—of which she had been a collector from the first hour of her commanding a shilling—her writing-desk, and her works of charity and ingenuity, were all within her reach; or if indisposed for employment, if nothing but musing would do, she could scarcely see an object in that room which had not an interesting remembrance connected with it.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
Examples of ergonomic changes to your work might include: • Adjusting the position of your computer keyboard to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome • Being sure that the height of your desk chair allows your feet to rest flat on floor • Learning the right way to lift heavy objects to prevent back injuries • Using handle coatings or special gloves to suppress vibrations from power tools
(Ergonomics, NIH)
