Added 8 October 2026
bureaucracy
/bjʊəˈɹɒk.ɹə.si/ noun
Coined: a coined word, by Jean Claude Marie Vincent Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about bureaucracy at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Government by bureaus or their administrators or officers.
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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.
At that time the administration replaced the system of patronage in the civil service with a bureaucracy.
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The body of officers and administrators, especially of a government.
The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy.
Origin
From bureau + -cracy, from French bureaucratie, coined by Jean Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay from bureau (“office”) + -cratie (“rule of”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)