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bureaucrat

[ byoor-uh-krat ]
/ ˈbyʊər əˌkræt /
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noun
an official of a bureaucracy.
an official who works by fixed routine without exercising intelligent judgment.
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Origin of bureaucrat

From the French word bureaucrate, dating back to 1835–45. See bureau, -crat

OTHER WORDS FROM bureaucrat

bu·reau·crat·ism [byoor-uh-krat-iz-uhm, byoo-rok-ruh-tiz-], /ˈbyʊər ə krætˌɪz əm, byʊˈrɒk rəˌtɪz-/, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bureaucrat in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bureaucrat

bureaucrat
/ (ˈbjʊərəˌkræt) /

noun
an official in a bureaucracy
an official who adheres to bureaucracy, esp rigidly

Derived forms of bureaucrat

bureaucratism (bjʊəˈrɒkrəˌtɪzəm), noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for bureaucrat

bureaucrat
[ (byoor-uh-krat) ]

Someone who works in or controls a bureaucracy. The term is often used negatively to describe a petty, narrow-minded person. (See also conformity and organization man (see also organization man).)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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