bureaucracy
/bjʊˈɹɑ.kɹə.si/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.55 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A system of administration based upon organisation into bureaus, division of labour, a hierarchy of authority, etc., designed to dispose of a large body of work in a routine manner.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "However, when Britain left the European Union, ferries started to ply a direct sea link from Ireland, to save hauliers from custom's bureaucracy of driving via Britain."
- "At that time the administration replaced the system of patronage in the civil service with a bureaucracy."
- "Each of the most provocative selections is facing criticism that they lack the expertise and experience to run the vast, specialized bureaucracies that would be under their control."
- "The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy. (apocryphal quip)"
- "The head of the civil service promised to clamp down on bureaucracy."
- ""If we can capture anything from this awful situation, it is that ability to trust people to do certain things for themselves and to look out for each other, and to give them the tools to do their job as well as they can without having to go through endless bureaucracy to achieve it, which very often just delays and dilutes and doesn't add much value."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ Proto-Hellenic *pāwər Ancient Greek πῦρ (pûr) Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Hellenic *-rós Ancient Greek -ρός (-rós) Ancient Greek πῠρρός (pŭrrhós)bor. Latin burrus Latin burra Old French *bure Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -lus Latin -ellus Old French -el Old French burel French bureau Proto-Indo-European *kret-der. Ancient Greek κρᾰ́τος (krắtos) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek -κρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (-krătĭ́ā)lbor. French -cratie French bureaucratie English bureaucracy From bureau + -cracy, from French bureaucratie, coined by Jean Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay from bureau (“office”) + -cratie (“rule of”).
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /bjʊˈɹɑ.kɹə.si/
- British English: /bjʊəˈɹɒk.ɹə.si/