red tape

noun

: official routine or procedure marked by excessive complexity which results in delay or inaction

bureaucratic red tape

… enterprisers that show how people across the Nation are coping (or not coping) with such problems as unemployment, the budget deficit and Government red tape.

—John Weisman

… pompous officials (often lowly clerks) in love with red tape who delight in obstructing the expedition of what should be simple procedures.

—Norman W. Schur

Initial plans became irretrievably mired in the red tape of building permissions.

—Bella Pollen

Their plan is simple enough and none too glamorous: create a Web site to help people cut through red tape; i.e., pay for parking tickets and so on.

—Sarah Kerr

Examples of red tape in a Sentence

You would not believe the red tape involved in getting the required permits.

Recent Examples on the Web

The work requirements are expected to strip coverage from millions of people — not for lack of employment, but due to burdensome paperwork and other red tape. — Berkeley Lovelace Jr, NBC news, 5 Nov. 2026

Becerra has proposed cutting red tape to raise California's housing supply, increasing access to down payment assistance programs. — Richard Ramos, CBS News, 3 Nov. 2026

Perilous jungles, scorching deserts and frozen tundra slowed him down, but bureaucratic red tape often brought his adventure to a halt for long periods. — ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026

Meanwhile, film and TV shoot days in Hollywood’s historic home, Los Angeles, are in a spiral despite efforts being made to cut red tape and boost incentives offered to productions to shoot locally. — Erik Hayden, HollywoodReporter, 2 Nov. 2026

Word History

Etymology

from the red tape formerly used to bind legal documents in England

First Known Use

1736, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for red tape

• agape
• escape
• landscape
• lenape
• reshape
• seascape
• soundscape
• ape
• cape
• crape
• crepe
• drape

Kids Definition

red tape

noun

: rules and regulations that waste people's time