red tape Definition
red tape
noun
- official forms and routines
- too great attention to regulations and routine, resulting in delay in getting business done
Etymology: from the tape commonly used to tie official papers
red tape Synonyms
red tape
n.
Delay
wait, inaction, roadblock, holdup; see impediment 1.Bureaucracy
officialism, paperwork, inflexible routine, officialdom; see bureaucracy 1, 2.
red tape Usage Examples
Converse of subject
- overwhelm: Farmers suffer too, exploited by supermarkets, overwhelmed by red tape and fighting unfair competition from abroad.
- gag: Business is bound and gagged by red tape, increasingly unable to compete with international rivals.
Converse of object
- cut: Politicians are always promising to cut red tape, without ever getting specific.
- reduce: In the words of Stephen Byers, this was to help British businesses avoid unnecessary expenditure and to reduce red tape.
- face: Do you need advice on setting up a business and cutting through the red tape faced by small businesses?
- say: In the News 18 March 2002 The British Chamber of Commerce says that red tape costs businesses more than £ 15bn since 1997.
- avoid: Avoiding red tape and solicitors bills, the easy way!
- fight: Business trips will be more productive than trying to fight the red tape facing you.
Preposition: for
- business: Health and safety regulations are the costliest form of red tape for small businesses, new research reveals.
- farmer: Cutting back on paperwork and red tape for farmers will therefore be an absolute priority for a Conservative Government.
Adjective modifier
- bureaucratic: The retention of the escrow account signals continued delays and bureaucratic red tape that will hamper the functioning of the economy.
- extra: So the vision of the UK saying No to Europe would lead to new costs and extra red tape.
- much: However, I fear that the burden of too much red tape might force our universities into constructing more limited programs.
Browse dictionary entries near red tape
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- ‹ red spider
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- ‹ red-shouldered hawk
- ‹ red-shifted
- ‹ Red Sea

