desktop

UK[ˈdɛskˌtɒp]US[ˈdɛskˌtɑp]

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,884 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: desktops

A desktop is a computer meant to sit on a table, or the screen you start from. A desktop machine.

The screen sense borrowed the word from the furniture, which is why it has icons of paper and folders. A desktop computer is cheaper and easier to repair than a laptop of the same power.

Definitions of desktop

1noundesktopA computer meant to sit on a table, or the screen you start from.C1
“He kept a desktop for the heavy work and a laptop for everything else.”

desktop is a computer.

Where it comes from

From desk + top.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

desktop in the wild

Desktop publishing (DTP) is the creation of documents using dedicated software on a personal ("desktop") computer.
Desktop publishing
The desktop environment was seen mostly on personal computers until the rise of mobile computing.
Desktop environment
Xfce (pronounced as four individual letters, ) is a free and open-source desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems.
Xfce
On a computer, wallpapers are generally used on the desktop, while on a mobile phone they serve as the background for the home screen.
Wallpaper (computing)
The term "wallpaper" was used in Microsoft Windows before Windows XP (In Windows XP and later, it is called the "desktop background").
Wallpaper (computing)

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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