[, ]a thing that you must do as a formal or an official part of a legal process, a social situation, etc. 正式手续◆It takes a month to complete the legal formalities of the sale. 要花一个月的时间办理这笔销售的法律手续。◆Let's skip the formalities and get down to business. 咱们省去繁文缛节，开始讨论正事吧。◆lengthy customs formalities 耗时的海关手续⨁to complete / deal with / follow / go through (the) formalities 办妥／履行／遵循／办理手续⨁to dispense with / skip (the) formalities 免去／省去手续
[, ]a thing that you must do as part of an official process, but which has little meaning and will not affect what happens 例行公事◆He already knows he has the job so the interview is a mere formality. 他已知道自已得到了这份工作，所以面试仅仅是例行公事。