How to Use red tape in a Sentence

red tape

noun
  • 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
  • Even with a deal, goods trade will have more rules, more red tape and more cost.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Dec. 2020
  • This means the team knows the struggle, the red tape and also how to overcome them.
    — Georgann Yara, The Arizona Republic, 11 Nov. 2022
  • This is where the saying comes [from] about cutting through the red tape.
    — Theresa MacHemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 May 2020
  • And adjusting the rules and cutting red tape is the work of years not months.
    — Julian E. Barnes, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
  • 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 layers of red tape mean few people want to take the time to get clearance to speak.
    — Maggie Fox, CNN, 30 July 2021
  • But the rates never changed, despite the easing of red tape.
    — Courtney Astolfi, cleveland, 22 Apr. 2022
  • Dowd's body was found in the blue tarp with red tape wrapped around his head, the report stated.
    — Brooke Newman, The Arizona Republic, 15 Sep. 2020
  • If left unchecked, the red tape will choke your vision — and the rest of your company.
    — Lisa Bodell, Forbes, 26 June 2021
  • For years, museum red tape in Italy ran as long as the Via Flaminia.
    — Brian T. Allen, National Review, 12 Sep. 2020
  • 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
  • We are held back by lots of regulation, lots of red tape and physics and math.
    — Leonard David, Space.com, 18 Apr. 2025
  • 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
  • The Policy that needs the most work is getting rid of some of the red tape for business to start building here.
    — Brooks Johnson, Star Tribune, 27 July 2021
  • Don't begin anything new or make key changes since those in charge may wrap you up in red tape.
    — Tribune Content Agency, oregonlive, 22 Aug. 2020
  • The loophole, called the de minimis rule, allowed products up to $800 to avoid tariffs and other red tape as long as they were shipped directly to U.S. consumers or small businesses.
    — Ana Swanson, New York Times, 2 May 2025
  • Traditional providers often operate with narrow contractor networks, lengthy wait times, and layers of red tape.
    — William Jones, USA Today, 7 May 2025

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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