How to Use red tape in a Sentence

red tape

noun
Definition of red tapenext
  • You would not believe the red tape involved in getting the required permits.
  • Why all this red tape in the way of the best and the brightest?
    — Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 6 Feb. 2024
  • But that’s where the easy part of the project ends — and the red tape begins.
    — Amy Bushatz, Anchorage Daily News, 1 May 2022
  • Kids play in the background, as members of the crowd joke about the red tape.
    — Noah Robertson, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 July 2022
  • The grants are easy to apply for without a lot of red tape.
    — Pam McLoughlin, Hartford Courant, 10 Sep. 2022
  • This means the team knows the struggle, the red tape and also how to overcome them.
    — Georgann Yara, The Arizona Republic, 11 Nov. 2022
  • Incentives to builders and plans to cut red tape are among the chief tools in the statewide effort.
    — Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 9 Apr. 2024
  • But the rates never changed, despite the easing of red tape.
    — Courtney Astolfi, cleveland, 22 Apr. 2022
  • Bella cut through the red tape and threw down a Golden Buzzer free pass for Wheelz.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2022
  • There’s quite a lot of red tape as to where cameras can be placed within the buildings, though.
    — Matt Crisara, Popular Mechanics, 26 May 2023
  • Plans to adapt the grid to clean energy are confronting mountains of red tape.
    — Evan Halper, Washington Post, 14 June 2022
  • The team spent 17 days on board, but much of the work was waylaid by bureaucratic red tape.
    — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 4 Aug. 2023
  • Everything is always draped in miles and miles of red tape.
    — Fox News, 27 June 2022
  • The driver’s-side taillight was replaced with red tape and the tailgate was faded.
    — Cliff Pinckard, cleveland, 5 Dec. 2021
  • Gloria vowed to keep cutting through red tape at City Hall.
    — David Garrick jan. 11, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Jan. 2023
  • For Hsu, this red tape is the No. 1 reason Oxbryta hasn’t been more widely used.
    — Jason Mast, STAT, 19 Dec. 2022
  • Patzer pushed for 15 years to jump-start the data collection process but said she was stymied by red tape.
    — Ben Tanen, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024
  • Peskin blamed the city’s housing dearth on market forces, not red tape.
    — Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023
  • Twenty twenty-three could be the year red tape loses its grip.
    — Jonathan Wolfson, National Review, 1 Feb. 2023
  • The good news is the vessels will stay anchored while officials sort through that red tape.
    — [email protected], Robb Report, 25 Mar. 2022
  • Whether the plan can make it through government red tape – and the courts – is a different story.
    — Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024
  • Yes, but: Local and state officials have sought ways to cut down the red tape in recent years.
    — Shawna Chen, Axios, 26 Sep. 2024
  • Some landlords say that the red tape of the rental assistance program has caused problems for them, too.
    — Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2021
  • But now comes a bunch of red tape, including figuring out how to start the divorce process.
    — Elizabeth Kiefer, Glamour, 25 Dec. 2023
  • The red tape has left the Kaitzs in limbo, with Sam spending about $70 per day for lodging in Mexico City.
    — Marisa Iati, Washington Post, 29 June 2023
  • Even the best intentions get bogged down by inertia and red tape.
    — Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2022
  • And there is plenty of other bureaucracy and red tape to move through to move abroad.
    — Byalicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 7 July 2024
  • After sifting through a year of red tape, American High was a go.
    — New York Times, 21 Nov. 2021
  • Cut red tape to help send surge pharmacy teams to places where there is higher demand.
    — Edward Segal, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2021
  • Donald Trump has vowed to get rates lower, cut out red tape, and crack down on immigration.
    — Alena Botros, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'red tape.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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