bureaucrat
noun
Did you know?
In French, a bureau is a desk, so bureaucracy means basically "government by people at desks". Despite the bad-mouthing they often get, partly because they usually have to stick so close to the rules, bureaucrats do almost all the day-to-day work that keeps a government running. The idea of a bureaucracy is to split up the complicated task of governing a large country into smaller jobs that can be handled by specialists. Bureaucratic government is nothing new; the Roman empire had an enormous and complex bureaucracy, with the bureaucrats at lower levels reporting to bureaucrats above them, and so on up to the emperor himself.
Examples of bureaucrat in a Sentence
Josh Mazer, Baltimore Sun, 9 July 2025
Historically, even when politicians and bureaucrats act in good faith to help workers earn more money, tipping policy changes have created unintended consequences because managers and customers have reacted to them in unpredictable ways.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 2 July 2025
This would shift decision-making power to lawmakers (or possibly bureaucrats employed by the state).
—Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 July 2025
While courts in other states have peeled back this unjust advantage for government bureaucrats another venue for reform lies in democratic institutions—specifically, state legislatures.
—Jon Riches, Oc Register, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for bureaucrat
Cite this Entry
“Bureaucrat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bureaucrat. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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bureaucrat
noun
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