A table and desk are two very similar pieces of furniture. However, there are some very clear differences between the two.
A Table is a flat surface, elevated off the ground, that can be used for a wide range of activities. These include eating, working, playing, and more. A desk is a table used by a single person for the primary purpose of work or study.
To simplify it further.
In the modern day, any desk is a table, but a table is not necessarily a desk. A desk is a table with a specific use, working. If you have a sloped desk, it is technically not a table. This is because a table must have a flat top.
However, sloped desks went out of fashion nearly a century ago so it’s safe to say in almost every case a desk is a table.
So the 2 key differences between a desk and a table are:
- How many people use it
- Desks are usually used by a single person
- Tables can be used by any number of people
- What it is used for
- A desk’s main purpose is work, studying, or reading
- A table can have any use
- What extra features does it have
- A desk often has drawers, shelves, or cable management
How To Easily Distinguish Between A Table And A Desk
A desk often has some form of storage, in the form of drawers or shelves, but this is not always the case. It is also isn’t uncommon for a desk to have a cable management system, this is usually a tray on the underside of the desk or a small hole in the desk.
Another key feature of a desk is that it is usually used by a single person for a limited number of tasks. For example, you may refer to a desk as ‘John’s programming desk’, implying it is a desk used for only coding by John. While a table that is not a desk is most often communal. So while the table below is primarily used for work, it would be called a table.
Mostly distinguishing between the two can be done on gut feel. However, below I detail the exact differences between the two if you want a more precise outline of the two.
As an example of what a normal desk looks like, here you can find desks for ultrawide monitors or desks specifically for an iMac.
What Exactly Are A Table And A Desk?
A Table is defined as
‘a piece of furniture consisting of a smooth flat slab fixed on legs‘ by the Merriam Webster Dictionary
Simply put, if you have a flat surface with legs, it’s a table (regardless of what it’s used for). Most tables that are not desks will not have any storage, this is another possible way of distinguishing between the two.
For example, both of these are tables
while These are some standard desks.
A desk is defined as
‘a table, frame, or case with a sloping or horizontal surface especially for writing and reading and often with drawers, compartments, and pigeonholes‘ by the Merriam Webster Dictionary
Essentially a desk is a table used for work, there are more differences as I have already discussed. But this is the feature that distinguishes between the two most often. Drawers are common in desks to help with organization, although drawers aren’t necessary to maintain an organized desk.
Sloped desks were commonly used in schools a century ago but are rarely seen in the modern day. These slanted desks are the only example of a desk that is NOT a table. Slanted desks are not tables as a table must have a flat surface by definition.
As office jobs have displaced jobs in manual labor, desks have obviously become more commonplace outside of just schools. This is likely where the confusion between the two come from, as although they used to be different things, there is now a substantial overlap between tables and desks.
In Conclusion
A desk and a table are not the same things.
A desk is a specific type of table, one used primarily for work purposes. Any flat desk is a table, but a table is simply a general term used for any flat surface with legs, so not every table is a desk.
Here are more articles on desks, including an article on how to measure desks and what the optimal desk depth is.
