red tape

R r

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [red teyp]
- /rɛd teɪp/
- /red teɪp/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [red teyp]
- /rɛd teɪp/

Definitions of red tape words

noun red tape excessive formality and routine required before official action can be taken. 1
noun red tape bureaucracy 1
uncountable noun red tape You refer to official rules and procedures as red tape when they seem unnecessary and cause delay. 0
noun red tape obstructive official routine or procedure; time-consuming bureaucracy 0
noun red tape official forms and routines 0
noun red tape too great attention to regulations and routine, resulting in delay in getting business done 0

See all 6 definitions of red tape

Information block about the term

Origin of red tape

First appearance:

before 1730

One of the 48% newest English words

First recorded in 1730-40; after the red tape used to tie official documents

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Red tape

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Red tape

red tape popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 53% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

red tape usage trend in Literature

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Synonyms for red tape

noun red tape

academism — academicism.
beadledom — petty officialdom
bureaucracy — A bureaucracy is an administrative system operated by a large number of officials.
civil service — The Civil Service of a country consists of its government departments and all the people who work in them. In many countries, the departments concerned with military and legal affairs are not part of the Civil Service.
convenance — suitable behaviour; propriety

All 23 Synonyms of red tape