Oval Office

American

noun

the office of the president of the United States, located in the White House.
this office regarded as the seat of executive power in the U.S. federal government.

Oval Office British

noun

the private office of the president of the US, a large oval room in the White House
the US presidency

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Oval Office Cultural

An oval-shaped room in the White House that serves as the official office of the president of the United States. Since the presidency of Richard Nixon, the term has been used to refer to the president himself: “The order came directly from the Oval Office.”

Etymology

Origin of Oval Office

An Americanism dating back to 1960–65; so called from the shape of the room

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He worked his way up through the ranks in the White House Counsel's Office and then into the Oval Office, where he became deputy assistant to the president.

From BBC

But the effects of his presidency will remain long after he departs the Oval Office.

From The Wall Street Journal

The pair successfully requested an Oval Office meeting with the president two days after the shooting.

From The Wall Street Journal

Instead the president echoed Blanche’s sentiment from the Oval Office, declaring that it was “really time” for the country to move past Epstein.

From Salon

It became such a phenomenon that even President Nixon was recorded talking about it in the Oval Office.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023