bureaucrat

[ byoor-uh-krat ]
See synonyms for bureaucrat on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an official of a bureaucracy.

  2. an official who works by fixed routine without exercising intelligent judgment.

Origin of bureaucrat

1
From the French word bureaucrate, dating back to 1835–45. See bureau, -crat

Other words from bureaucrat

  • bu·reau·crat·ism [byoor-uh-krat-iz-uhm, byoo-rok-ruh-tiz-], /ˈbyʊər ə krætˌɪz əm, byʊˈrɒk rəˌtɪz-/, noun

Words Nearby bureaucrat

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bureaucrat in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bureaucrat

bureaucrat

/ (ˈbjʊərəˌkræt) /


noun
  1. an official in a bureaucracy

  2. an official who adheres to bureaucracy, esp rigidly

Derived forms of bureaucrat

  • bureaucratism (bjʊəˈrɒkrəˌtɪzəm), noun

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

Cultural definitions for bureaucrat

bureaucrat

[ (byoor-uh-krat) ]


Someone who works in or controls a bureaucracy. The term is often used negatively to describe a petty, narrow-minded person. (See also conformity and organization man (see also organization man).)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.