office

office — 名詞

1. a room, or sometimes a whole building, where staff sit at desks and use computer

1.名詞A2
釋義

辦公室

公司裡員工辦公的房間或樓層

a room, or sometimes a whole building, where staff sit at desks and use computers, phones, and printers to do paperwork or business tasks for a company.

例句

Maya shares a small office on the third floor with two other designers.

Maya 跟另外兩位設計師共用三樓一間小辦公室。

share + an office (room sense)

Marcus left the office at six o'clock and walked straight to the train station.

Marcus 六點離開辦公室，直接走去火車站。

leave/arrive at the office

同義詞
  • workplace

    broader — any place of work, including factories or shops

  • workspace

    the personal area or desk inside a larger office

  • bureau

    more formal; often used for news or government offices

文法句型

the office

in/at the office

用法筆記

Often used with 'the' even when the speaker has not mentioned a specific office, because it is understood to mean the speaker's own workplace ('I'm at the office').

常見錯誤

❌I work in office today.
✅I work in the office today.
💡countable noun; needs 'the' or 'an' when referring to a specific room or workplace.
❌She is in office now, please call later.
✅She is in the office now, please call later.
💡'in office' (no article) means holding a political position; for the room, use 'in the office'.

2. one branch or section of a larger business, often named after the city or region

2.名詞B1
釋義

分公司；分部

公司在某地設立的據點或部門

one branch or section of a larger business, often named after the city or region it serves and reporting to a central headquarters.

例句

The Taipei office handles every customer in East Asia and reports to London twice a month.

台北分公司負責東亞所有客戶，每個月向倫敦回報兩次。

the [city] office

Our Berlin office has only twelve staff, but it brings in half of the company's profit.

我們的柏林分部只有十二位員工，卻創造了公司一半的獲利。

同義詞
  • branch

    very close synonym, especially for banks and shops

  • bureau

    more common for news agencies and government bodies

  • headquarters

    the main controlling office, never a small one

文法句型

the [city] office

head/branch office

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense names a sub-unit of a company (Taipei office, head office), while sense 1 names a physical room you sit in. Common collocates are 'head', 'branch', 'regional', and city names.

常見錯誤

❌She works for the New York office of room 305.
✅She works in room 305 of our New York office.
💡the unit (Sense 2) contains rooms (Sense 1), not the other way round.

3. the place in which a doctor, a dentist, or an animal doctor receives patients fo

3.名詞B1
釋義

診所

醫師或牙醫看診的地方

the place in which a doctor, a dentist, or an animal doctor receives patients for check-ups, advice, or treatment; British speakers usually call this a 'surgery' or 'practice'.

例句

Dr. Tanaka's office is open from nine to five and closed on Wednesdays.

Tanaka 醫師的診所每天九點到五點看診，週三休診。

[Dr. X]'s office

Carlos took his daughter to the dentist's office for a check-up last Monday.

Carlos 上週一帶女兒去牙醫診所做檢查。

the dentist's office

同義詞
  • clinic

    broader — a building with several doctors or services

  • surgery

    British equivalent for a doctor's office

  • practice

    the business itself, not just the rooms

文法句型

the doctor's/dentist's office

用法筆記

Mainly American English. British speakers normally say 'the doctor's surgery' or 'the GP's practice', and 'the dentist' (not 'the dentist's office') is enough on its own.

常見錯誤

❌I have an appointment at the doctor office tomorrow.
✅I have an appointment at the doctor's office tomorrow.
💡needs the possessive 's.

4. an important job in a government, party, or large body, with the power and duty

4.名詞C1
釋義

職務；官職

政府或組織中具職權的職位

an important job in a government, party, or large body, with the power and duty that come with it — for example, the role of mayor, minister, or company president.

例句

Mayor Lin took office in January after winning a very close election.

林市長在險勝選舉後，於一月就職。

take office (begin a role)

The president has held office for nearly two terms and will step down in May.

總統已任職將近兩任，將在五月卸任。

hold office (be in a role)

同義詞
  • position

    general word for a job; less ceremonial than 'office'

  • post

    any official appointment, including non-elected jobs

  • tenure

    the period someone holds an office, not the office itself

文法句型

hold/take/leave office

in office

office of [title]

用法筆記

Use 'office' (no article) in the fixed phrases 'take/hold/leave office' and 'in office'. With 'the office of …' (the office of mayor), the article is required because it names a specific post.

常見錯誤

❌He took the office last month.
✅He took office last month.
💡the fixed phrase has no article.
❌During his office, the economy grew.
✅During his time in office, the economy grew.
💡'office' here means the position, not a span of time; add 'time in'.

5. a named branch of national or city government that handles one area of public wo

5.名詞B2
釋義

部會；機構

處理特定事務的政府單位

a named branch of national or city government that handles one area of public work, such as foreign affairs, taxes, or patents; often written with a capital letter as part of its title.

例句

The Foreign Office issued a travel warning for citizens flying to the region this summer.

外交部針對今年夏季飛往該地區的國民發布旅遊警示。

the [Name] Office

Britain's Home Office decides who is allowed to enter the country and stay long-term.

英國內政部負責決定誰能入境並長期居留。

Home Office (UK department)

同義詞
  • department

    general word for any government unit; American English prefers this

  • ministry

    common in many countries (but not the UK or US) for the same idea

  • agency

    often a smaller or more specialised body

文法句型

the [Name] Office

Office of [Topic]

用法筆記

Most often a Capitalised proper noun forming the name of a department (the Home Office, the Patent Office, the Tax Office). Distinguish from sense 4: this is the body itself; sense 4 is the personal post a single official holds.

常見錯誤

❌Britain home office said no.
✅Britain's Home Office said no.
💡the proper-noun department needs capital letters and the possessive on the country name.