bureaucracy

The definition of bureaucracy means government workers, or a group that makes official decisions following an established process.

(noun)

An example of a bureaucracy is the staff that runs a city hall.

Bureaucracy is defined as working in a way that has many steps to complete a task and very strict order and rules.

(noun)

An example of a bureaucracy is the Department of Motor Vehicles.

YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2013 by LoveToKnow Corp.

See bureaucracy in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun pl. bureaucracies

  1. the administration of government through departments and subdivisions managed by sets of appointed officials following an inflexible routine
  2. the officials collectively
  3. governmental officialism or inflexible routine
  4. the concentration of authority in a complex structure of administrative bureaus

Origin: Fr bureaucratie < bureau + -cratie, -cracy

See bureaucracy in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. bu·reauc·ra·cies
  1. a. Administration of a government chiefly through bureaus or departments staffed with nonelected officials.
    b. The departments and their officials as a group: promised to reorganize the federal bureaucracy.
  2. a. Management or administration marked by hierarchical authority among numerous offices and by fixed procedures: The new department head did not know much about bureaucracy.
    b. The administrative structure of a large or complex organization: a midlevel manager in a corporate bureaucracy.
  3. An administrative system in which the need or inclination to follow rigid or complex procedures impedes effective action: innovative ideas that get bogged down in red tape and bureaucracy.

Origin:

Origin: French bureaucratie

Origin: : bureau, office; see bureau

Origin: + -cratie, rule (from Old French; see -cracy)

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See bureaucracy in Ologies

Bureaucracy

See also government.

beadledom

the world of petty and officious bureaucrats. Cf. bumbledom.

bumbledom

the world of petty and incompetent officials.

bureaucracy

1. a government typified by a rigid hierarchy of bureaus, administrators, and minor officials.

2. a body of administrators; officialdom.

3. administration characterized by excessive red tape and routine. —bureaucratie, adj.

bureaucratese

turgid, misleading language, as typical of bureaucracies. Cf. federalese, officialese.

empleomania

an obsession with public employment.

federalese

language typical of the U.S. federal government, especially bureaucrtic jargon. Cf. bureaucratese, officialese.

officialdom

1. the realm or position of officials.

2. excessively close adherence to bureaucratie procedure.

officialese

language characteristic of officialdom, typified by polysyllabism and much periphrasis. Cf. bureaucratese, federalese.

officialism

1. any official regulations or procedures.

2. an excessive emphasis on official regulations or procedures.

3. officials in general or collectively.

panjandrum

designation for a pompous official, taken from a story by Samuel Foote(1755).

red-tapeism, red-tapism

the practice of requiring excessive paperwork and tedious procedures before official action can be considered or completed. Also called red-tapery. —red-tapist n.

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