bureaucrat
Americannoun
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an official of a bureaucracy.
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an official who works by fixed routine without exercising intelligent judgment.
noun
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an official in a bureaucracy
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an official who adheres to bureaucracy, esp rigidly
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bureaucrat
From the French word bureaucrate, dating back to 1835–45. See bureau, -crat
Explanation
A bureaucrat is an administrative official who works for the government. You brought the budget office bureaucrat a book about literacy, hoping to convince him you need more funding for the library. The word bureaucrat comes from bureaucracy, which means a system of government where state officials make decisions instead of elected ones. In America, bureaucrat often has a negative ring to it because some people think they make procedures too complicated and time-consuming — driving people crazy but ensuring they, the bureaucrats, stay busy processing it.
Vocabulary lists containing bureaucrat
This Week in Words: August 25 - 31, 2018
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President Obama's Speech on the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington
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The Boy on the Wooden Box
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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.
He tilts to the left like a Leaning Tower of Bureaucrat, arms sagging, as he waits for his turn at the microphone.
From New York Times • Nov. 1, 2018
Part dystopian fantasy, part thriller, part giddy literary-nerd wordplay, Helen Phillips' "The Beautiful Bureaucrat," is both a page-turner and a novel rich in evocative, starkly philosophical language.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2015
As a longtime New Yorker myself, I thought The Beautiful Bureaucrat does such a superb job of capturing that exhilarating, terrifying vertigo of the first season in a big city.
From Slate • Aug. 7, 2015
While the Bureaucrat Hall of Fame and Moocher Hall of Fame already exist, the Hypocrite Hall of Fame is just a concept.
From Forbes • May 14, 2015
"Where are the others of the party?" broke in the Bureaucrat.
From The Tale Of Mr. Peter Brown - Chelsea Justice From "The New Decameron", Volume III. by Sackville-West, Vita
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.
