bureau
/ˈbjʊ.ɹoʊ/noun
bureau is spelled B-U-R-E-A-U: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 26 times per million words in written English, the 3,558th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, bureau means “An administrative unit of government; office” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bureau is bureaus or bureaux.
How many letters and syllables are in bureau?
| Letters | 6: B-U-R-E-A-U |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 26 times per million words; the 3,558th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is bureau?
Bureau appears 26 times per million words in written English, the 3,558th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bureau?
- UK /ˈbjʊ.ɹəʊ/
- UK /ˈbjʊ.ɹə/
- US /ˈbjʊ.ɹoʊ/
Bureau has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-bureau.ogg, En-us-ne-bureau.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with bureau?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as bureau from its last stressed vowel (/ʊɹoʊ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of bureau
- bureaus plural
- bureaux plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bureau mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An administrative unit of government; office.
- 2
An organization or office for collecting or providing information or news.
a news bureau; a travel bureau; a service bureau; an employment bureau; the Citizens Advice Bureau
- 3
An office (room where clerical or professional duties are performed).
- 4
UKA desk, usually with a cover and compartments that are located above the level of the writing surface rather than underneath, and often used for storing papers.
- 5
USA chest of drawers for clothes.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate bureau?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of bureau: bu.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bureau in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bureau , agence , secrétaire , chiffonnier |
| German | Büro , Sekretär, Schreibtisch , Kommode |
| Spanish | cómoda , negociado, buró |
| Portuguese | escritório, birô , mesa, escrivaninha , cômoda |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bureau come from?
Unadapted borrowing from French bureau, earlier "coarse cloth (as desk cover), baize", from Old French burel (“woolen cloth”), diminutive of *bure (compare Middle French bure (“coarse woolen cloth”
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).