bureaucracy
n. C / Un. a complicated system of rules and processes that a government or large company uses to manage things. It often makes simple tasks feel slow and difficult because of all the paperwork.
n. a system of administration based on a hierarchy of authority, fixed rules, and established procedures. Often carries a pejorative connotation referring to excessive complexity or inefficiency.
The new business failed because there was too much bureaucracy.
Small business owners often complain that government bureaucracy prevents them from hiring new staff quickly.
While intended to ensure fairness and transparency, the department's internal bureaucracy has become so rigid that it now stifles the very innovation it was designed to protect.
From bureau + -cracy, from French bureaucratie, coined by Jean Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay from bureau (“office”) + -cratie (“rule of”).
Uncountable when referring to the general concept of administrative systems; countable when referring to a specific organization or group of officials.