[{"word":"bureaucracy","phonetic":"/bjʊəˈɹɒkɹəsi/","phonetics":[{"text":"/bjʊəˈɹɒkɹəsi/","audio":""},{"text":"/bjʊˈɹɑːkɹəsi/","audio":""}],"meanings":[{"partOfSpeech":"noun","definitions":[{"definition":"Government by bureaus or their administrators or officers.","synonyms":[],"antonyms":[]},{"definition":"(organizational theory) 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.","synonyms":[],"antonyms":[],"example":"At that time the administration replaced the system of patronage in the civil service with a bureaucracy."},{"definition":"The body of officers and administrators, especially of a government.","synonyms":[],"antonyms":[],"example":"The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy. (apocryphal quip)"},{"definition":"Excessive red tape and routine in any administration, body or behaviour.","synonyms":[],"antonyms":[],"example":"The head of the civil service promised to clamp down on bureaucracy."}],"synonyms":[],"antonyms":[]}],"license":{"name":"CC BY-SA 3.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0"},"sourceUrls":["https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bureaucracy"]}]