desk
/dɛsk/noun, verb
desk is spelled D-E-S-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 27 times per million words in written English, the 3,422nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, desk means “A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of desk is desks.
How many letters and syllables are in desk?
| Letters | 4: D-E-S-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 27 times per million words; the 3,422nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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 desk?
Desk appears 27 times per million words in written English, the 3,422nd 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 desk?
- US /dɛsk/
Desk has one syllable (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-desk.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with desk?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as desk from its last stressed vowel (/ɛsk/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: keds, sked.
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 desk
- desks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- desking participle, present
- desked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does desk mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a drawer or repository underneath.
She organized her notes neatly on her desk before starting the project.
- 2
A reading table or lectern to support the book from which the liturgical service is read, differing from the pulpit from which the sermon is preached; also (especially in the United States), a pulpit. Hence, used symbolically for the clerical profession.
- 3
A department tasked with a particular topic or focus in certain types of businesses, such as newspapers and financial trading firms.
the city desk, the sports desk
- 4
Ellipsis of mixing desk.
- 5
A station for a string player in an orchestra, consisting of a chair and a music stand, or a row of such stations.
The first four desks of cellos play separate parts, making a lush, Impressionist harmony.
verb
- 1
To shut up, as in a desk; to treasure.
- 2
To equip with a desk or desks.
- 3
To reject (an article submitted to a newspaper or academic journal etc.) on initial receipt, without reviewing it further.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Desk in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bureau, pupitre , rubrique |
| German | Schreibtisch , Ressort |
| Portuguese | escrivaninha, carteira , editoria |
| Spanish | escritorio, pupitre, carpeta, mesabanco, secreter, escribanía |
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 desk come from?
From Middle English deske, desque, from Medieval Latin desca, modified from Old Italian desco, from Latin discus. Doublet of dais, disc, discus, dish, disk, and diskos. See also German Tisch, "table".
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).