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

But Balkanizing the department won’t eliminate much red tape. —Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026

But most work never got off the ground, mired in red tape, corruption, and security risks due to the Taliban insurgency. —ABC News, 18 Apr. 2026

The cost of excessive red tape is significant, manifesting itself in slower economic growth, higher consumer costs and lost jobs. —Editorial, Boston Herald, 18 Apr. 2026

This includes better coordination among the multiple state agencies that regulate and oversee the child care sector, in addition to minimizing red tape, providing public data on where families stand in line for the state’s subsidy waitlist and ensuring access for children with disabilities. —Lina Ruiz april 16, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Apr. 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