administrative
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of administrative
From the Latin word administrātīvus, dating back to 1725–35. See administrate, -ive
Explanation
If your job is administrative, you're pretty much limited to paperwork, check-writing, or maybe hiring and firing. Administrative means having to do with overseeing the "office-y" things. An artist doesn't have time for administrative details; they're too busy creating. A successful artist will hire a manager to handle the administrative aspects of his career, such as contacting galleries, setting up shows, and making sure they get paid for their work. People who handle administrative duties are often called bureaucrats, which is typically not a nice name to be called. Sometimes they're called "administrators." Teachers are there to teach; principals have to handle the administrative duties of running a school.
Vocabulary lists containing administrative
Obama's 2013 State of the Union
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Sincerely Sicily
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State and Local Governments, Sections 1–4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The union wants to cap compensation at $450,000 a year for senior hospital and medical group executives, as well as other administrative and managerial staff.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
But the young women who would have become telephone operators became stenographers, administrative assistants and waitresses instead.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
Supporters of the overhaul argue that the previous system contained an excessive number of overlapping or rarely used categories, which created administrative inefficiencies without significantly improving religious accommodation or support.
From Salon • Jun. 6, 2026
The quarterly census of employment and wages administrative records released this past week differed little from the nonfarm payroll data covering the same period.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
We now had five attorneys, an investigator, and three administrative staff members.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
