bureaucracy

[ byoo-rok-ruh-see ]

noun

, plural bu·reauc·ra·cies.

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 .)

Notes

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

Your new identity involves much bureaucracy—driver’s license, passport, health insurance card must be updated, and so you stop to have your photo taken.

From MIT Technology Review

This could—according to the official line—improve public services, cut down on voter fraud, and reduce bureaucracy.

From MIT Technology Review

The culprit is bureaucracy—with its authoritarian power structures, suffocating rules, and toxic politicking.

From Quartz

That, says Vondracek, is why his experience is a lesson for countries battling with clunky bureaucracies but endowed with the power of a relatively savvy and tech-minded population.

From Ozy

That’s particularly true when it comes to the presidency, which oversees a vast federal bureaucracy influencing trillions of dollars in spending.

From Quartz

Senseless bureaucracy is part of what spawned the Tea Party.

From The Daily Beast

Depressing is really what Cuba has become—repression, bureaucracy, and crippling poverty.

From The Daily Beast

He was widely perceived as having been outplayed by a vast military bureaucracy that he never sought to tame.

From The Daily Beast

They described the challenges of finding work and of dealing with the military bureaucracy.

From The Daily Beast

The sheer amount of redundant bureaucracy needs to be eliminated.

From The Daily Beast

Almost the worst kind of government that can be placed upon a people is a bureaucracy.

From Project Gutenberg

And in the same manner as in Prussia, a portion of the bureaucracy joined the bourgeoisie.

From Project Gutenberg

Roger found all the civilisation, culture, and well-ordered bureaucracy of the Moor firmly established.

From Project Gutenberg

In the first place, may I point out that we have not up to now non-co-operated with the Bureaucracy?

From Project Gutenberg

The time must soon come when the Bureaucracy must yield or withdraw the Reforms Act.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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