rubber stamp

See also: rubberstamp

English

(figuratively) Of a person, organisation, or process, making decisions or approving matters routinely or without real power.
rubber stamp politics

rubber stamp (plural rubber stamps)

(literally) A piece of rubber or similar material with a design or text carved or molded for the purpose of transferring ink or dye to imprint that design on another object.
The library had a rubber stamp to imprint the due date.
(figuratively) A person or organisation that approves, routinely or as a formality, matters decided by some other person or organisation.
During the Roman principate, the senate largely served as a rubber stamp for the emperor.

piece of rubber to make an imprint

Arabic: خَتْم مَطَّاطِيّ m (ḵatm maṭṭāṭiyy)
Chinese:
Hokkien: 橡奶印 (chhiǔⁿ-lin-ìn, chhiūⁿ-ni-ìn)

Mandarin: 橡皮圖章 / 橡皮图章 (zh) (xiàngpí túzhāng)
Czech: razítko (cs) n
Dutch: stempel (nl)
Finnish: kumileimasin (fi)
French: tampon (fr) m
German: Gummistempel, Stempel (de) m
Hebrew: חוֹתֶמֶת גּוּמִי (he) f (khotemet gumi)
Italian: timbro (it) m
Japanese: ゴム印 (ja) (ゴムいん, gomu-in)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: stempel n

Nynorsk: stempel n
Polish: pieczątka (pl) f, stempel (pl) m
Russian: печа́ть (ru) f (pečátʹ), штамп (ru) m (štamp), ште́мпель (ru) m (štɛ́mpelʹ)
Spanish: timbre de goma
Thai: ตรายาง (dtraa-yaang)
Turkish: damga (tr)

person or body approving things without power to change them

rubber stamp (third-person singular simple present rubber stamps, present participle rubber stamping, simple past and past participle rubber stamped)

(figuratively) To process, approve or decide matters routinely rather than through careful consideration.
They usually just rubber stamp orders under $100.

to process routinely