From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbureaubu‧reau /ˈbjʊərəʊ $ ˈbjʊroʊ/ ●○○ noun (plural bureaus or bureaux /-rəʊz $ -roʊz/) [countable] 1 SSOORGANIZATIONan office or organization that collects or provides information an employment bureau the Citizens Advice Bureau2 PGa government department or a part of a government department in the US the Federal Bureau of Investigation3 an office of a company or organization that has its main office somewhere else the London bureau of the Washington Post4 British EnglishDHF a large desk or writing table5 American EnglishDHF a piece of furniture with several drawers, used to keep clothes in SYN chest of drawers British English
Examples from the Corpus
bureau• Your sister said you passed out and hit your head on her bureau.• the visitor's information bureau• At the area course the trainee will have a chance to meet trainees from other local bureaux.• Their whole life began seeming like a missing persons bureau.• Perhaps the most obvious is wilful and corrupt exploitation of debtors by dishonest employees of the credit reference bureau.• Nevertheless, out of necessity, to help the adviser feel less pressured, some bureaux do run partial appointment systems.• The bureau is interested in its sponsor's demands as a basis for the formulation of its budget.• The bureau swooped down on three illicit Hong Kong factories on Sept. 3 alone.• He is now Director of the Maritime Transport Bureau.From Longman Business Dictionarybureaubu‧reau /ˈbjʊərəʊˈbjʊroʊ/ noun [countable] (plural bureaux /-rəʊz-roʊz/ British English or bureaus)ORGANIZATIONS1an office, organization, or department that collects or gives out informationthe Citizens Advice Bureauthe tourist information bureau → see also Better Business Bureau2American English a government department or part of a government departmentthe Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms3an office of a company or organization that is not its main office or baseThe international environmental organization Greenpeace has established its own Moscow bureau.Origin bureau (1600-1700) French “desk, cloth covering for desks”, from Old French burel “woolen cloth”, from Latin burra “wool, rough cloth” 