From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdeskdesk /desk/ ●●● S2 W2 noun [countable] 1 DHFa piece of furniture like a table, usually with drawers in it, that you sit at to write and work Marie was sitting at her desk.2 DLTa place where you can get information or use a particular service in a hotel, airport etc the reception desk the check-in desk3 TCBTCNan office that deals with a particular subject, especially in newspapers or televisionthe news/sports deskCOLLOCATIONSadjectivestidyHow come your desk is always so tidy?cluttered (=covered with papers, books etc in an untidy way)His desk is so cluttered he can't find anything.empty (=that no one is using)There are one or two empty desks in the office.a school deskThe children are at their school desks by 8:30 in the morning.an office deskI got back from holiday to find piles of papers on my office desk.a writing desk (=that you use for writing letters etc)Under the window was a small writing desk.a wooden/mahogany/rosewood etc deskHe sat at a plain wooden desk.verbssit at a deskI don't want to do a job in which I'm sitting at a desk all day.get up from your deskHe got up from his desk to welcome the visitors.tidy your deskI need to tidy my desk.clear your desk (=remove all the papers etc from it)It's a good idea to clear your desk regularly.desk + NOUNa desk job (=working mostly at a desk in an office)He left his desk job to become a gardener.a desk drawerI think I left my car keys in the desk drawer. a desk lampDon't forget to switch off the desk lamp.
Examples from the Corpus
desk• Conway's secretary, Marie, was sitting at a desk.• The people placed on other desks were permitted to call themselves salesmen or traders.• A nurse was seated at the reception desk.• Lloyd is running the sports desk.• Lucy Lane was sitting at the desk, turning the pages of a loose-leaf manuscript file.• Or at a pinch he might be able to squeeze himself into the desk drawer and hide.• He pulled the crumpled bills from his shirt pocket and dropped them on the desk.• His hunched figure padded across to the desk in the bay and Swod gestured for the police officer to sit down.• The desk floated through the door into the hallway.• If I had any class at all, I would get up from this desk and go buy bagels.reception desk• Louis Johnson came to despise the Alsops and ordered Pentagon reception desks to inform him whenever they set foot in the building.• The contract was made at the reception desk.• The nurses all wore sweaters, and a tiny electric heater glowed behind the reception desk.• The two women behind the reception desk avoided her eye.• It was early evening when the manager of the Langstone Hotel came to the reception desk in response to the ringing of the bell.• Dragging her mind back to the matter in hand, and mumbling apologies, she wormed her way to the reception desk.• The reception desk was getting a last bright coat of yellow paint.• I worked reception desk and switchboard.the news/sports desk• That evening, Scott took his place at the news desk and ran an eye over his script.• I filed reports around midnight to catch the sports desk the following morning.• This can cause problems on the news desk and does not create a very good impression.• When he was taken ill, I ran the news desk.• But try telling that to the news desk.• I told the news desk they should send some one else, one of the junior reporters.From Longman Business Dictionarydeskdesk /desk/ noun [countable]1OFFICEa piece of furniture like a table, usually with drawers in it, that you sit at to write and workMy father has worked behind a desk for over forty-two years.2TRAVELa place where you can get information in a hotel, airport etcYou may enquire at the information desk about tour times for the King’s Palace.the hotel’s front desk → see also City desk, help desk, trading deskOrigin desk (1300-1400) Medieval Latin desca, from Latin discus “dish, disk” 