Office Equipment
English Vocabulary
- Tape (dispenser)
- Paper clip holder
- Ruler
- Paper clips
- Pushpins
- Bulldog clip
- Scissors
- Correction Fluid (white-out)
- Pencil sharpener
- Calculator
- Stapler
- Staples
- Pen
- Pencil
- Eraser (= rubber)
- Highlighter
- Hole-punch
- Rubber bands (elastic bands)
A paper clip is a small piece of wire that holds pieces of paper together. A bulldog clip is bigger and works better when you have to keep large amounts of paper together.
Some people have paper clip holders that are small transparent boxes with a magnet rim with an opening at the top on them. This was if you drop all the paperclips it is easy to pick them back up with the magnet.
A paper clip keeps papers together temporarily, but if you want to do it permanently you should use a stapler. In fact a stapler works so well that to disconnect the papers you need another special tool called a stapler remover.
When you need to cut paper or other objects you should use scissors. They safely cut paper and are easy to use.
A calculator is a small electronic device that helps you to solve math problems.
Business cards are small pieces of card with your name and contact information written on them. You carry the cards around so that you can give them to different people, especially at meetings.
A calendar has all the days of the month in it so that you know what day it is today. Many people keep desk calendars on the top of their desk so that they can always see their schedule and so that they won't forget different meetings and events. An organizer is a small book that you keep that allows you to keep task of everything. Inside of it there is normally a calendar filled with your schedule, as well as other important information that you need, including contact numbers for other people. It is also called an appointment book or personal planner.
Rather than carry it with you or have it on the top of your desk some people prefer to have a wall planner hanging beside the desk which shows all the days of year at a time.
When you make a mistake with a pen you need to use correction fluid or white out to cover the mistake. It is a liquid that you can put on paper to cover a mistake and then you can write over it again. However if you are writing with a pencil you can use a rubber or an eraser to make the mistake go away.
When reading through long documents or studying, it is a good idea to use a highlighter in order to put the important facts in a bright colour.
Carbon paper is a type of blue paper that you put between two pieces of normal paper. When you write on the top sheet of paper, it will make a copy of what you wrote on the bottom sheet of paper.
A clip board is a small piece of wood (or plastic) with a clip at the top so that you can attach the paper to it and write while standing.
A desk lamp is a special lamp that sits on top of a desk and directs the light downward on to the paper you are writing.
A computer is normally the most important tool in an office. Many people type all of their important information into it. The monitor of the computer is the part that has a screen on it, like a television so that you can see all of the information. Many monitors today are flat screen ones. A laptop is a type of portable computer that is smaller and can be carried and used in different places. Now with new technology many people use WIFI to connect to the internet without cords. They can take their laptops anywhere and work outside of the office. Before people had computers they used to use electric typewriters, and before that they used normal typewriters.
Masking tape is normally a light brown coloured tape that is not very sticky and only holds things up for a short time. Scotch tape is a clear adhesive and many times called Sellotape. Normally you keep the tape in a tape dispenser, which keeps the end of the roll separated from the rest of it, this way you do not need to waste time trying to pull the tape apart.
Glue is an adhesive that sticks two objects together. Be careful when you use it not to stick your fingers together. Another name for glue is paste. A glue stick is when the glue is not in liquid form but is a soft solid. It is easier to spread a glue stick than normal glue, and normally less messy.
The in tray is where you stack all the papers of the work you still have to do. Sometimes this pile of papers can become very large. Once you finish with work you put it in the out box or out tray.
There are different ways to write a letter to someone. One way is to write on regular paper and put it inside of an envelope. Nowadays most people use a computer and send an e-mail.
A file cabinet is a large piece of furniture designed specifically to hold stacks of paper. The papers are organized into folders that hang inside the cabinet. The folders are often called files, or file folders thus giving the cabinet its name.
Other important furniture in an office includes the desk where you write and have your computer. You may also find a bookcase, where you keep all of your different reading material.
Some people do not have their own office, rather they share a large room and have cubicles. This is a work area with small walls that don't reach the ceiling that separate the workers but do not close them off completely.
There is usually a whiteboard in an office where you can write notes or messages for all to see. It is sometimes used to give presentations. The pens that you use for a whiteboard are called dry erase markers or marker pens and you can erase the information you wrote with them once you have finished.
A fax machine takes a piece of paper, copies it and then sends the image over a phone line to another fax machine in a different office. At the other end the image is copied onto another piece of paper for them to be read.
Unlike a fax machine a photocopier takes the image from the pieces of paper and copies it, but doesn't send it to another place. Photocopiers are used to make many copies of the same paper. Making photocopies is normally a job given to the newest person at work.
A printer allows for information from the computer to be printed onto a piece of paper.
A rubber band is a circular piece of rubber that stretches and holds things together, or closes a bag.
If you have a lot of mail you might want to use a letter opener, a type of knife that can open all of the envelopes so that you don't get a paper-cut.
A legal pad is like a notebook, but the papers are connected at the top of the page instead of from the left side. Normally the paper is yellow.
Important people often have a nameplate sitting on the front of their desk. It is often a very nice small sign that has their name and title printed on it.
Many people have small pieces of yellow paper covering the wall of their office with small bit of information written on them. These piece of paper are called post it notes and have a sticky part at one end of the paper.
Rather than have small papers all over the office some people prefer to keep their offices more organized, writing down small notes in a notepad or a memo pad.
A notice board is where messages are left for the entire office to see, with different information shared by everyone. A pushpin allows you to attach a piece of paper to a notice board.
A hole punch is used to create holes on the left side of a paper so that the papers can be organized inside of a binder.
A desk tidy or organizer is a box or container without a lid that has several different compartments for different items. This allows you to keep your pens, rubber bands, paper clips and other objects separate.
For official documents a rubber stamp is used to leave a mark on paper to prove that you give it your approval. A stamp pad is the device that has ink for the rubber stamp.
Many people today do not have regular telephones in their homes or offices, instead they use only their cell phones, because it can go anywhere with them..
When you are bored at work and don't want to be productive take a break and spin around in your swivel chair. Also, try throwing balls of paper into the wastepaper basket or trash can.
Next Activity
Try out our Hangman game about things you can find in an Office.
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