desktop
desk·top[ˈdɛskˌtɒp]noun, adjective
desktop is spelled D-E-S-K-T-O-P, 2 syllables: desk·top. The wrong spelling people search most is desktiop: about 10 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 5,000 of all searches for the word. Desktop is a noun meaning “The top surface of a desk”. The plural of desktop is desktops.
How many letters and syllables are in desktop?
| Letters | 7: D-E-S-K-T-O-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: desk·top |
| In writing | 8.5 times per million words; the 7,910th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, desktiop, about 10 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell desktop?
Desktop is spelled D-E-S-K-T-O-P. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 5,686 of the searches for desktop in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is desktop?
Desktop appears 8.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,910th 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 desktop?
- /ˈdɛsktɒp/
- Australia [ˈdɛskˌtɔp]
- UK [ˈdɛskˌtɒp]
Desktop has 2 syllables, split desk·top in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-desktop.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of desktop
- desktops plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does desktop mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The top surface of a desk.
- 2
A desktop computer.
Laptops are often more expensive than desktops.
- 3
A personal computer, as opposed to computers for business or server purposes.
- 4
The main graphical user interface of an operating system, usually displaying icons, windows and background wallpaper.
I installed a new application and it added its icon to my desktop.
- 5
The wallpaper of this interface.
For quotations using this term, see Citations:desktop.
adjective
- 1
Designed for use on a desk or similar piece of furniture.
- 2
Of an application or website, designed to be run or viewed on a personal computer.
desktop browser
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Desktop in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Schreibtischfläche , Desktop-Computer , Benutzeroberfläche, Arbeitsoberfläche |
| Spanish | escritorio, sobremesa |
| Portuguese | desktop, computador de mesa, computador de secretária , ambiente de trabalho, área de trabalho |
| French | bureau |
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 desktop come from?
From desk + top.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).