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

My sources attributed the lack of California heli-ski operators to tricky business dynamics and shifting weather patterns, but primarily to the red tape created by the state’s environmental protections. —Brent Rose, Outside, 28 Feb. 2026

There's still a lot of red tape that gets in the way of shovels hitting dirt. —Dejanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026

One of the real reasons so many bathhouses are able to open now is because the de Blasio administration eliminated a lot of the red tape in an attempt to support gyms and spas in the wake of COVID closures. —Madeline Leung Coleman, Curbed, 25 Feb. 2026

Sacramento officials are trying to cut red tape in the city’s permitting processes, confronting a common complaint among developers who say prolonged approvals can delay housing and challenge businesses. —Sara Nevis, Sacbee.com, 25 Feb. 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