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 ballot proposals would effectively do that by allowing projects that are 25 percent affordable to move forward with less red tape in districts that aren’t doing their share. —Kim Velsey, Curbed, 24 Oct. 2025

Dealing with the red tape around tariffs was too much work, said Rasmus Lynnerup, who founded the business with his wife Catherine in 2023. —Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Oct. 2025

Local zoning and red tape are at the heart of the problem, Donovan, who is currently the CEO of Enterprise Community Partners, said. —Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2025

Europe has faced criticism over its notorious red tape and fractured business environment; a report last year by a former head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, particularly raised alarm over the bloc’s competitiveness. —J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2025

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