The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Bureaucracy \Bu*reau"cra*cy\, n. [Bureau + Gr. ? to be strong,
   to govern, ? strength: cf. F. bureaucratie.]
   1. A system of carrying on the business of government by
      means of departments or bureaus, each under the control of
      a chief, in contradiction to a system in which the
      officers of government have an associated authority and
      responsibility; also, government conducted on this system.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Government officials, collectively; -- used especially of
      nonelected government officials.
      [1913 Webster +PJC]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

bureaucracy
    n 1: nonelective government officials [syn: bureaucracy,
         bureaucratism]
    2: a government that is administered primarily by bureaus that
       are staffed with nonelective officials
    3: any organization in which action is obstructed by insistence
       on unnecessary procedures and red tape