variants
or less commonly off-line
1
: not connected to or served by a system and especially a computer or telecommunications system
One of the servers is offline.
… we suggest you keep a backup of your digital assets in offline storage, too. This storage can provide some cushioning if your online investment disappears in an instant.—
The Denver (Colorado) Post
The Denver (Colorado) Post
also
: done or occurring independently of such a system
our online and offline lives
offline activities/events
Movies and shows can be downloaded via the app for offline viewing. —Dan Auty
Dan Auty 2
of a person
: not available (as for communication) especially by way of the Internet
She was having computer trouble, she told him, and would be offline for a while.—Mark Warren
Mark Warren
off-line
adverb
Examples of offline in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The models remain offline as Anthropic works to restore access.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026
Eventually, the landing page was taken offline.
—Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 12 June 2026
Young people need more offline life, more independence, and more practice doing hard things with other people.
—Adam Howard, Time, 10 June 2026
Guests visiting Magic Kingdom noticed a number of popular attractions suddenly go offline, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Tiana's Bayou Adventure, TRON Lightcycle Run, Space Mountain, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and The Barnstormer, according to the Disney site BlogMickey.
—Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 9 June 2026
And servicing activities like replacing the vacuum container will have to be done quickly enough so that the plant isn’t offline for long periods.
—ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026
That slower, batch‑style approach existed, in part, because updating critical systems can mean taking them offline, and there is always a risk that a new patch breaks something important.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 9 June 2026
The game also finally includes a more thorough record-keeping system, meaning some of us might be done with manually tracking basic information about our multi-season campaigns in offline spreadsheets.
—Jason Kirk, New York Times, 9 June 2026
Recently proposed staffing regulations from the California Department of Public Health could force hundreds if not thousands of beds to come offline.
—Cathryn Nacario, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026
Eventually, the landing page was taken offline.
—Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 12 June 2026
Young people need more offline life, more independence, and more practice doing hard things with other people.
—Adam Howard, Time, 10 June 2026
Guests visiting Magic Kingdom noticed a number of popular attractions suddenly go offline, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Tiana's Bayou Adventure, TRON Lightcycle Run, Space Mountain, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and The Barnstormer, according to the Disney site BlogMickey.
—Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 9 June 2026
And servicing activities like replacing the vacuum container will have to be done quickly enough so that the plant isn’t offline for long periods.
—ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026
That slower, batch‑style approach existed, in part, because updating critical systems can mean taking them offline, and there is always a risk that a new patch breaks something important.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 9 June 2026
The game also finally includes a more thorough record-keeping system, meaning some of us might be done with manually tracking basic information about our multi-season campaigns in offline spreadsheets.
—Jason Kirk, New York Times, 9 June 2026
Recently proposed staffing regulations from the California Department of Public Health could force hundreds if not thousands of beds to come offline.
—Cathryn Nacario, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Offline.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/offline. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
offline
adjective
off·line
ˈȯ-ˈflīn 
1
: not connected to or controlled by a computer
an offline printer
2
: not available (as for communication) especially by way of the Internet
she was offline all day
off-line
adverb
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