desktop

UK: /ˈdɛsktɒp/ US: /ˈdɛskˌtɑp/ ,(desk′top′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

desk•top /ˈdɛskˌtɑp/   adj. [before a noun]

1. made to fit or be used on a desk or table:
   a desktop computer.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

desk•top  (desk′top′), adj. 

1. small or compact enough to fit or be used on a desk:
   a desktop computer.

n. 

2. Computing the primary display screen of a graphical user interface, on which various icons represent files, groups of files, programs, or the like, which can be moved, accessed, added to, put away, or thrown away in ways analogous to the handling of file folders, documents, notes, etc., on a real desk.

• desk + top¹ 1925–30

desktop, +n. 

1. Computing the primary display screen of a graphical user interface, on which various icons represent files, groups of files, programs, or the like, which can be moved, accessed, added to, put away, or thrown away in ways analogous to the handling of file folders, documents, notes, etc., on a real desk.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

desktop / ˈdɛskˌtɒp/ noun

1. (modifier) denoting a computer system, esp for word processing, that is small enough to use at a desk