box-ticking

British

noun

derogatory the process of satisfying bureaucratic administrative requirements rather than assessing the actual merit of something

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

On 4 February, Stuart Ringer gave evidence about his friend Gosia Nowak, who died in 2019 less than 24 hours after an NHS appointment, claiming she was treated like a "box-ticking" exercise by mental health services.

From BBC

“I don’t think he’s just trying to compile a kind of box-ticking collection of vintage classics just as an ownership project. He loves the chase and he loves the romance and the stories.”

From Los Angeles Times

Ms Vine, from Wimbledon in south-west London, has written an open letter to Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, accusing the force of "box-ticking" with its internal campaigns, and demanding "meaningful change".

From BBC

However, she said that looking at images of the new structure, the platform seemed to be a "box-ticking exercise rather than an enhancement".

From BBC

Through cutting what the government describes as "box-ticking targets", ministers say GPs will be freed up to take the first steps towards ending the 08:00 scramble for an appointment.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023