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bureaucracy definition

bu·reauc·racy (byo̵o rä′krə sē, byo̵̅o̅-)

noun pl. bureaucracies -·cies

  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

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

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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