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

They camped out in various bureaucracies, literally sleeping in the office and having food delivered.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

They also talked of a "crippling bureaucracy" which required some organisations to employ consultants with form-filling, and according to another independent report, contributed to mental health issues for almost all of the applicants.

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Today, her transplant is tied up in a tangle of bureaucracy, her fate bound to a home she can’t live in and an address she can’t leave.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The UK has become the "most expensive place in the world" to build nuclear power plants, according to a government review detailing the "overly complex" bureaucracy around the sector.

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For reasons lost to dusty bureaucracy, the Ivies stayed out of the FCS playoffs that had launched in 1978.

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Related Words

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