1 [count] a : a building or room in which people work at desks doing business or professional activities ▪ She works at/in our Chicago office. ▪ Are you going to the office today? ▪ The company's main/home office [=the company's most important office] is in San Francisco. —often used before another noun ▪ A new office building [=a building with offices] is being built on Main Street. ▪ office equipment/supplies ▪ Our company is having an office party [=a party for the people who work at the office] next week. ▪ The company is renting office space downtown. ▪ office workers/staff —see picture on the next page b : a room with a desk where a particular person works ▪ The supervisor held an informal meeting in his office. ▪ Her office is on the top floor near the elevator. ▪ He misbehaved in class and was sent to the principal's office. ▪ We use the extra bedroom in our house as an office. c chiefly US : a building or room where a doctor, lawyer, etc., works and meets with patients or clients ▪ We stopped by the lawyer's office to pick up some documents. ▪ the doctor's office [=(Brit) surgery] —see also box office, oval office, ticket office
2 : the job or position of someone who has authority especially in the government [noncount] ▪ He has been in office for a decade. ▪ He was voted out of office. ▪ He won the election and will take office at the beginning of the year. ▪ She has decided to leave office after two successful terms. ▪ She plans to run for office [=campaign to be elected to an office] again. ▪ U.S. senators are elected to a term of office of six years. [count] ▪ She has held several public offices.
3 [count] : a department of a company, organization, government, or school. ▪ She went to the unemployment office. ▪ Where is the registrar's office on campus? ▪ the U.S. Patent Office —see also foreign office, home office, post office, register office, registry office