bureaucracy

[byoo-rok-ruh-see]

noun

plural

bureaucracies 

1. government by many bureaus, administrators, and petty officials.

2. the body of officials and administrators, especially of a government or government department.

3. excessive multiplication of, and concentration of power in, administrative bureaus or administrators.

4. administration characterized by excessive red tape and routine.

bureaucracy

/ bjʊəˈrɒkrəsɪ /

noun

1. a system of administration based upon organization into bureaus, division of labour, a hierarchy of authority, etc: designed to dispose of a large body of work in a routine manner

2. government by such a system

3. government or other officials collectively

4. any administration in which action is impeded by unnecessary official procedures and red tape

bureaucracy

1. A formal, hierarchical organization with many levels in which tasks, responsibilities, and authority are delegated among individuals, offices, or departments, held together by a central administration. According to many sociologists and anthropologists, the development of bureaucratic organizations is necessary for the emergence of any modern civilization. (See Max Weber.)

Today, the term bureaucracy suggests a lack of initiative, excessive adherence to rules and routine, red tape (see also red tape), inefficiency, or, even more serious, an impersonal force dominating the lives of individuals. (See Big Brother is watching you.)

Word History and Origins

Origin of bureaucracy¹

First recorded in 1810–20; bureau + -cracy, modeled on French bureaucratie

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, much of Japan’s entrenched bureaucracy will fight change with all the resources and ingenuity at its command.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The shutdown is disrupting business as usual in many ways—and reinforcing just how many private-sector operations depend on a federal bureaucracy humming on all cylinders.

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While only one U.N. agency—the Food and Agriculture Organization—is led by a Chinese citizen, Beijing’s power comes from its sustained presence within the bureaucracy, according to analysts.

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It had become a “do-nothing law that promises to do everything,” Swaim wrote, while creating a new state bureaucracy in the process.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The push factors, meanwhile, are long-standing bugbears - such as a poor regulatory environment, tiresome bureaucracy and a poor ease-of-business climate that has led to an exodus of wealthy, high-earning Indians over the years.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• administration 
• authority 
• civil service 
• management 
• ministry 
• red tape