- 1[uncountable] (often disapproving) the system of official rules and ways of doing things that a government or an organization has, especially when these seem to be too complicated unnecessary/excessive bureaucracy We need to reduce paperwork and bureaucracy in the company.
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- 2[uncountable, countable] a system of government in which there are a large number of state officials who are not elected; a country with such a system the power of the state bureaucracy living in a modern bureaucracy
- 3[countable] a government or a department within a government that is divided into many smaller departments and run by officials who are appointed rather than elected
Check pronunciation: bureaucracy