Go to MSN Homeencarta®
Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Click to move up the list of words
red-shouldered hawk
red snapper
red snow
Red Spot
red spruce
Red Square
red squirrel
red steenbras
red tape
red tide
red-top
red valerian
red water
red whortleberry
red-winged blackbird
red worm
redact
Click to move down the list of words
Also available:

U.S. English Dictionary
Dictionnaire Français

red tape
red tape


noun 
Definition:
 
bureaucracy: official procedure regarded as unnecessary, overcomplicated, or obstructive ( informal )

[< the red tape once widely used to seal official documents]
Encarta® World English Dictionary [World English Edition] © & (P)2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Advertisement
© 2009 Microsoft