Office vocabulary

Ballpoint (also Biro^TM)

a pen with a  tiny rotating ball that allows ink to flow as you write:

• red ballpoint  pen
• to write in black ballpoint pen
• Ballpoint pen has dried out.

Binder clip

a metal device with folding handles, that is designed to hold many sheets of paper together:

• to fasten together with a binder clip. 
• He used a binder clip to organize wires.

Calculator

a small electronic device used for adding (+), subtracting (-), multiplying (x), or dividing (÷) numbers:

• The examinees are not allowed to share calculators during the exam.

Clipboard

a small board used for holding a paper in position:

• She made a list of candidates on the clipboard.

Correction fluid (also white-out)

a white, quick-drying liquid used for covering errors on paper:

• You can write on the correction fluid, it has dried.

Envelope

a flat container typically made of paper, for letters or documents in it:

• Put your address on the envelope.

Eraser (also rubber)

a soft substance used for removing something made by a pencil:

• to rub out something with an eraser.

Folder

folding plastic or cardboard used for holding sheets of paper:

• Please keep these documents in a folder.

Glue stick

a tube with a sticky substance that is used for joining papers and cards together:

• Glue sticks are ideal for paper craft.

Highlighter

a marker that is used to bring notice to important passages of a document by marking them with a bright colour:

• A typical highlighter is yellow because our eyes are most sensitive to yellow.

In tray

an open container on someone’s desk to put incoming documents in:

• His in-tray is empty today.

Notepad

sheets of lined paper that are fastened together at top edge, used for recording notes:

• a notepad by the phone
• a plain notepad
• to scribble a note on a notepad

Paperclip

a small wire or plastic bent into a looped shape and used for holding sheets of paper together:

• The paperclip was invented by Johan Vaaler.

Pencil

an instrument containing a marking substance, typically made of wood, for writing or drawing:

• a coloured pencil
• to write in pencil
• to sharpen a pencil

Pencil sharpener

a small device with a hole to put a pencil into and sharpen it by rotating it several times:

• a hand-held pencil sharpener
• an electric sharpener

Post-it ^TM (also Post-it note)

a small sticky paper used for writing short notes on:

• He labelled the folders with post-it notes.

Punched pocked (US sheet protector)

a flat, transparent bag with a row of holes, that is used to attach a sheet of paper to a folder:

• Please remove the document from the punched pocket.

Pushpin

a small pin with a large plastic head that is used for temporarily fastening papers or pictures on a wall or a board:

• We fastened our holiday photos with pushpins to the wall.

Ring binder

a folder with two or three rings inside that is used to hold papers or file folder:

• You have to put the punched pockets into the ring binder.

Rubber stamp

a small tool that is used for imprinting a name, logo or date by pressing it on paper:

• He dated the letters with the rubber stamp.

Scissors

a tool consisting of two pivoting blades, that is used for cutting paper, cloth, hair etc.:

• a pair of scissors

Sellotape^TM (also sticky tape; US Scotch tape^TM)

a sticky and transparent material on a roll that is used to stick papers together. A device to hold and cut the tape is called a tape dispenser.

• I need Sellotape to seal the package up. 

Stapler

a device used to join pieces of paper with staples (U-shaped wire).  A device to remove staples from a paper is called a staple remover.