reception desk
5
2.5
- noun
- /rɪˈsɛpʃən dɛsk/
:
recepción
- When I arrived at the reception desk, the staff greeted me with a smile.
So the reception desk was protected by plexiglass.
- So the reception desk was protected by plexiglass.
Examples
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The guests checked in at the reception desk of the hotel.
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The vice president made some polite conversation and walked to the reception desk.
Fiction book (2000) -
Call the guy at the reception desk.
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Have him wait at the reception desk.
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"May I help you?" the woman behind the reception desk said.
Fiction book (1994) -
You can pick them up anytime at the reception desk.
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Miss Crawford, please come to the reception desk.
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Both offices had private entrances that opened to a waiting room with a reception desk.
Academic text (2009) -
The nun at the reception desk directed me to one of the upper floors.
Fiction book (2000) -
The woman walked crisply to the reception desk and began making anxious demands of the clerk.
Fiction book (1998)
How Helpful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a counter or area where visitors are greeted' is directly and transparently derivable from combining 'reception' (the act/area of welcoming) with 'desk' (a piece of furniture/counter). This is a straightforward noun+noun composition and a common, cross-linguistically similar concept (e.g. front desk/recepción), so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand it.
Etymology
Reception desk comes from the simple picture of a desk where visitors are 'received'. The word reception means the act of 'welcoming', and a desk is the counter at the entrance, so the phrase means the place that greets and helps people.