Nearby Words
noun, plural -cies.
1.
government by many bureaus, administrators, and petty officials.
2.
the body of officials and administrators, especially of a government or government department.
3.
excessive multiplication of, and concentration of power in, administrative bureaus or administrators.
4.
administration characterized by excessive red tape and routine.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Bureaucracy
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
Example Sentences
- He says that ideology and bureaucracy are to blame.
- He vowed to reduce the bureaucracy by thousands this year, and even more next.
- This is hardly unique to military bureaucracy.
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
bureaucracy
1818, from Fr. bureaucratie, from bureau "office," lit. "desk" (see bureau) + Gk. suffix -kratia denoting "power of;" coined by Fr. economist Jean Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay (1712-1759) on model of democratie, aristocratie.
EXPAND"That vast net-work of administrative tyranny ... that system of bureaucracy, which leaves no free agent in all France, except for the man at Paris who pulls the wires." [J.S. Mill, "Westminster Review" XXVIII, 1837]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
bureaucracy [(byoo-rok-ruh-see)]A formal, hierarchical organization with many levels in which tasks, responsibilities, and authority are delegated among individuals, offices, or departments, held together by a central administration. According to many sociologists and anthropologists, the development of bureaucratic organizations is necessary for the emergence of any modern civilization. (See Max Weber.)
Note: Today, the term bureaucracy suggests a lack of initiative, excessive adherence to rules and routine, red tape, inefficiency, or, even more serious, an impersonal force dominating the lives of individuals. (See Big Brother is watching you.)
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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