desktop
desktops
A desktop is the surface of a desk, the part you use for writing or resting your laptop on. Particularly tidy people might need to clean the entire desktop before getting any work done.
Your literal desktop — the top or surface of your desk — inspired the name for your computer desktop, the home screen on which you organize icons representing your files. When you're using a computer, you generally start from your desktop, opening windows or clicking on a file. When desktop is used as an adjective, it typically means "meant to be kept and used on your desk," like a desktop computer or a desktop scanner.
Definitions of desktop
-
the top of a desk
-
type of:
-
top, top side, upper side, upside
the highest or uppermost side of anything
-
top, top side, upper side, upside
-
(computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows appear
-
synonyms:
background, screen background
-
type of:
-
CRT screen, screen
the display that is electronically created on the surface of the large end of a cathode-ray tube
-
CRT screen, screen
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘desktop'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
Send us feedback
Word Family
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Look up desktop for the last time
Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the words you need to know.
