Definition of stovepipe
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: pipe of large diameter usually of sheet steel used as a stove chimney or to connect a stove with a flue
2
: silk hat
3
: an isolated and narrow channel of communication
Instead of streamlining Washington's ability to perform, the department clogged it up with new layers of bureaucracy and stovepipes of information.— Christopher Cooper and Robert Block We had 18 intelligence agencies, and they had what was called the famous stovepipes. They wouldn't share with each other, wouldn't talk to each other.— Jay Rockefeller
stovepipe
verb
stovepiped; stovepiping; stovepipes
Definition of stovepipe (Entry 2 of 2)
: to transmit (information) to a higher level in an organization through an isolated and narrow channel of communication
This [Pentagon policy] office, which circumvented the usual procedures of vetting and transparency, stovepiped many of its findings to the highest-ranking officials.— Seymour M. Hersh
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for stovepipe
The first known use of stovepipe was in 1784
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