# red tape

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/red-tape
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Time-consuming regulations or bureaucratic procedures.

## Examples

- There's too much red tape to get the permit.
- We need to cut through the red tape to finish this project.
- Starting a business here is slow because of all the red tape you have to go through.
- The hospital staff spent more time dealing with red tape than actually caring for the patients in the ward.
- I tried to renew my passport online, but the endless red tape made the process feel impossible.
- The aid shipment sat in the port for weeks, tangled in red tape that no one seemed able to cut.

## Origin

The term originates from the 17th-century administrative habit of binding official government documents with red-coloured tape. While the practice of securing legal papers in this manner was well-established in the English bureaucracy, the first recorded use of the phrase appeared c. 1658 in the publication Public Intelligencer. The physical ribbon served to keep related parchments together, necessitating a literal cutting of the tape before any official business could proceed.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.