'Red tape' definitions:

Definition of 'red tape'

(from WordNet)
noun
Needlessly time-consuming procedure [syn: bureaucratic procedure, red tape]

Definition of 'Red tape'

From: GCIDE
  • Tape \Tape\, n. [AS. t[ae]ppe a fillet. Cf. Tapestry, Tippet.]
  • 1. A narrow fillet or band of cotton or linen; a narrow woven fabric used for strings and the like; as, curtains tied with tape. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. A tapeline; also, a metallic ribbon so marked as to serve as a tapeline; as, a steel tape. [1913 Webster]
  • Red tape. See under Red.
  • Tape grass (Bot.), a plant (Vallisneria spiralis) with long ribbonlike leaves, growing in fresh or brackish water; -- called also fresh-water eelgrass, and, in Maryland, wild celery.
  • Tape needle. See Bodkin, n., 4. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'red tape'

From: Moby Thesaurus

Words containing 'Red tape'