administrative
Americanadjective
Other Word 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 administrative work involved with death isn’t always talked about, but it is crucially important and requires a lot of attention.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
“It’s creating such confusion, such anxiety, such an administrative burden, not just for the individuals, but for organizations like mine.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Yet schools have many fixed costs, such as maintaining, repairing, heating and cooling school buildings, operating cafeterias and managing many administrative functions that cannot easily be scaled down when enrollment declines inevitably reduce funding.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Jamie Dimon recruited him to come to JPMorgan as chief administrative officer, and he was later given the task of running the bank’s mortgage department.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Howard disappeared into the administrative offices to explain the problem to Swope and Whitney and get their opinion.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
