idiom · neutral
red tape
/red teɪp/RED·tape
official rules and procedures that cause unnecessary delay and complexity
Examples
“The project was delayed by red tape at the planning office.”
“Small businesses often struggle with government red tape.”
“Cutting through red tape would speed up the approvals.”
Band 8 sentence
“Foreign investors often cite excessive red tape as a major obstacle to doing business locally.”
Collocations
- cut through red tape
- bogged down in red tape
- suffer from red tape
Word family
Common mistakes
The project was delayed because of many red tapes.→The project was delayed because of red tape.
The red tape made difficult the approval.→Red tape made the approval difficult.
Say it for a higher band
5official procedures→6bureaucracy→7+red tape
Synonyms
bureaucracy
Easily confused
bureaucracy
“Many companies complain about bureaucracy when trying to get permits.”
Related words
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In Work
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