Phrase guide

public office

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈpʌblɪk ˈɔfɪs/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈpʌblɪk ˈɒfɪs/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A position or occupation established by law or by the act of a government body, for the purpose of exercising the authority of the government in the service of the public.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: government

Examples

  • My son finished law last month, and now aspires to public office.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a position concerning the people as a whole

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: position, post, berth, office, spot, billet, place, situation

Narrower terms: bully pulpit

History

Etymology

From public + office.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 公職 /公职 (gōngzhí) — government position
  • Finnish: virka — government position
  • German: Staatsamt — government position
  • Indonesian: pejabat publik — government position
  • Japanese: 公職 — government position
  • Korean: 공직 (gongjik) — government position
  • Malay: jawatan awam — government position
  • Polish: urząd — government position