From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary EnglishRelated topics: Organizations, Government, Furniturebureaubu‧reau /ˈbjʊərəʊ $ ˈbjʊroʊ/ ●○○ noun (plural bureaus or bureaux /-rəʊz $ -roʊz/) [countable]1SSOORGANIZATIONan office or organization that collects or providesinformation
an employment bureau
the Citizens Advice Bureau2PGa governmentdepartment or a part of a government department in the US
the Federal Bureau of Investigation3an office of a company or organization that has its main office somewhere else
the London bureau of the Washington Post4British EnglishDHF a large desk or writingtable5American EnglishDHF a piece of furniture with severaldrawers, used to keep clothes inSYN chest of drawers British EnglishExamples from the Corpusbureau• Your sister said you passed out and hit your head on her bureau.• the visitor's information bureau• At the areacourse the trainee will have a chance to meet trainees from other localbureaux.• Their whole life began seeming like a missingpersonsbureau.• Perhaps the most obvious is wilful and corruptexploitation of debtors by dishonestemployees of the creditreferencebureau.• Nevertheless, out of necessity, to help the adviser feel less pressured, some bureaux do run partialappointmentsystems.• The bureau is interested in its sponsor's demands as a basis for the formulation of its budget.• He is now Director of the MaritimeTransportBureau.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 alsoBetter Business Bureau →credit 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.Originbureau(1600-1700)French“desk, cloth covering for desks”, from Old Frenchburel“woolen cloth”, from Latinburra“wool, rough cloth”
