Beaurocracy or bureaucracy?
Did you mean bureaucracy? Here's the right spelling and how to remember it.
Incorrect
beaurocracy
Correct
bureaucracy
Correct spelling: bureaucracy. Misspelling: beaurocracy.
letters the misspelling gets wrong or leaves out letters that shouldn't be there
Memory tip
It starts with bureau (a desk or office) and ends with -cracy (rule): bureau + cracy.
Why people write “beaurocracy”
Bureaucracy is built on bureau, a word borrowed from French, where the three letters EAU spell a single vowel sound. Misspellings such as “burocracy” and “beaurocracy” come from guessing at that unfamiliar French spelling; remember bureau + cracy (rule).
Spell-checkers catch the mistake in a document, but not in a handwritten note, a text message or a word game. Writing the word out a few times while saying the tricky part aloud is the quickest way to make bureaucracy automatic.
Other misspellings of “bureaucracy”
People also write “burocracy”. Here is where each one goes wrong.
“burocracy”
Correct spelling: bureaucracy. Misspelling: burocracy.
letters the misspelling gets wrong or leaves out letters that shouldn't be there
What does “bureaucracy” mean?
bureaucracy noun
- nonelective government officials
Synonyms:bureaucratism
- a government that is administered primarily by bureaus that are staffed with nonelective officials
- any organization in which action is obstructed by insistence on unnecessary procedures and red tape
Definitions from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Full dictionary entry
“Bureaucracy” in a sentence
- Endless bureaucracy delayed the project.
Is “bureaucracy” a playable word?
20 points in Scrabble · 24 in Words With Friends
- Scrabble (US)
- Scrabble (UK)
- Words With Friends
“beaurocracy” is not accepted in any of these games. See every word you can make from BUREAUCRACY.