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
Female journalists around the world face mounting attacks, both on and offline and are subjected to specific and disproportionate threats, according to UNESCO.
—Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2025
Play2Video upgrades wired systems to wireless while enabling streaming and offline viewing on your car's screen.
—New Atlas, 27 Nov. 2025
Montague was well aware of the group because of their support both on and offline.
—Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 26 Nov. 2025
In other words, this experiential nature of feeling dreams allows dreaming to have a function, above and beyond a simple offline function of sleep.
—Literary Hub, 25 Nov. 2025
However, its offline functionality is much less helpful.
—PC Magazine, 22 Nov. 2025
The majority of the power plants went offline ran on natural gas.
—Spencer Kimball,gabriel Cortés, CNBC, 22 Nov. 2025
So, routes and coordination should ideally be planned offline.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 21 Nov. 2025
In addition to ceasing event coverage, WisconsinEye's video archive of state government proceedings, news conferences, candidate interviews and programming will go offline and downloads will not be processed.
—Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 20 Nov. 2025
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.
Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2025
Play2Video upgrades wired systems to wireless while enabling streaming and offline viewing on your car's screen.
—New Atlas, 27 Nov. 2025
Montague was well aware of the group because of their support both on and offline.
—Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 26 Nov. 2025
In other words, this experiential nature of feeling dreams allows dreaming to have a function, above and beyond a simple offline function of sleep.
—Literary Hub, 25 Nov. 2025
However, its offline functionality is much less helpful.
—PC Magazine, 22 Nov. 2025
The majority of the power plants went offline ran on natural gas.
—Spencer Kimball,gabriel Cortés, CNBC, 22 Nov. 2025
So, routes and coordination should ideally be planned offline.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 21 Nov. 2025
In addition to ceasing event coverage, WisconsinEye's video archive of state government proceedings, news conferences, candidate interviews and programming will go offline and downloads will not be processed.
—Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 20 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Offline.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/offline. Accessed 2 Dec. 2025.
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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