desktop

[ desk-top ]

/ ˈdɛskˌtɒp /

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

the surface of a desk.

Computers.

Also called desktop computer. a computer that is not portable, often consisting of a CPU, monitor, keyboard, and mouse.Compare laptop.
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.

Origin of desktop

First recorded in 1925–30; desk + top¹

You can download the Kindle App for free on your desktop or laptop computer, smart phone or tablet.

The Stacks: The Day ‘The Big Lebowski’ Came to Life |Alex Belth |July 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
They feature custom wallpaper, system sounds, and desktop icons for My Computer, Recycle Bin, and Network Neighborhood.

Homestar Runner, Trogdor the Burninator, and the Birth of the Internet |Rich Goldstein |April 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I like to see my desktop covered with face-up yellow pages drying like paintings in the sun.

Allan Gurganus: How I Write |Noah Charney |October 16, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Up comes a little box on the desktop from gogoinflight inviting me to follow them out into the cyber universe.

Errors in the Field |Michael Tomasky |April 24, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

Especially since the tech boom, which has brought a wealth of new tools to even the amateur investor's desktop.

Just How Wise is the Sage of Omaha? |Megan McArdle |December 6, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
The three microcards and the order itself appeared simultaneously on the desktop viewer of the Star Watch personnel officer.

The Dueling Machine |Benjamin William Bova
“I can build you a desktop out of garbage for twenty bucks,” Kurt said.

Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town |Cory Doctorow
Suddenly he gasped, and jabbed one of the many buttons that patterned his desktop.

A Knyght Ther Was |Robert F. Young
The beneficiary rose to his feet, seeming not to see the hand the old Judge had extended across the desktop toward him.

From Place to Place |Irvin S. Cobb
He crested the desktop and joined his brother in ferrying out more parts.

Makers |Cory Doctorow

desktop

/ (ˈdɛskˌtɒp) /

the main screen display on a personal computer, from which windows may be opened and programs run

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