box-ticking

British  

noun

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

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Example Sentences

“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 • Jun. 2, 2025

"Dáithí's Law's passed, it's the secondary legislation, it's the box-ticking, it's the crossing the Ts and dotting the Is of Dáithí's Law's and what that legislation is," Dáithí's father said.

From BBC • Feb. 1, 2023

Then they might tackle what is perhaps the problem of world premieres: that, as brief curtain-raisers unrelated to the rest of a concert, they tend to just read as perfunctory exercises in box-ticking.

From New York Times • Jan. 22, 2023

Some authors and publishers engage sensitivity readers as a box-ticking exercise and ignore the issues they raise.

From Salon • Jul. 30, 2022

“It’s really important that companies’ due diligence on their supply chains really probes into potential risks and is not simply a box-ticking exercise.”

From Seattle Times • Jan. 12, 2022