Usually means: Bureaucratic procedures delaying effective action.
Definitions Related words Phrases (New!) Mentions Colors (New!)
We found 32 dictionaries that define the word red tape:

General (26 matching dictionaries)
  1. red tape: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
  2. red tape: Merriam-Webster
  3. red tape: Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
  4. red tape: American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
  5. red tape: Collins English Dictionary
  6. red tape: Vocabulary.com
  7. red-tape, red tape: Wordnik
  8. red tape: Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
  9. red tape: Wiktionary
  10. red tape: The Wordsmyth English Dictionary-Thesaurus
  11. red tape: Infoplease Dictionary
  12. Red-tape, red tape: Dictionary.com
  13. red tape: Online Etymology Dictionary
  14. Red Tape (album), Red tape (disambiguation), Red tape: Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
  15. Red-tape: Online Plain Text English Dictionary
  16. red-tape: Webster's Revised Unabridged, 1913 Edition
  17. red tape: Rhymezone
  18. Red-tape: AllWords.com Multi-Lingual Dictionary
  19. Red Tape, Red Tape: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898)
  20. red-tape, red tape: FreeDictionary.org
  21. red tape: Mnemonic Dictionary
  22. Red Tape: The Word Detective
  23. Red-tape, red tape: TheFreeDictionary.com
  24. Red tape: Phrase Finder

Business (3 matching dictionaries)
  1. MoneyGlossary.com (No longer online)
  2. Red-tape, red tape: Legal dictionary
  3. BusinessDictionary.com (No longer online)

Computing (1 matching dictionary)
  1. Red-tape, red tape: Encyclopedia

Miscellaneous (1 matching dictionary)
  1. red tape: Idioms

Slang (1 matching dictionary)
  1. the red tape: Urban Dictionary

(Note: See red_tapes as well.)

Definitions from Wiktionary (red tape)

noun:  The binding tape once used for holding important documents together.
noun:  (metonymically, idiomatic) Time-consuming regulations or bureaucratic procedures.

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Colors:
    red,     burgundy,     crimson,     scarlet,     maroon, more...



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