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 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
This isn’t just a story of online brands going offline.
—Wwd China Staff, Footwear News, 4 Aug. 2025
Some of our Community Learning Centers—especially in remote areas—were previously offline for much of the time, making communication and coordination a real challenge.
—Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
SpaceX’s Starlink system might be suffering another outage, a week after the satellite internet system experienced a disruption that knocked it offline for several hours.
—PC Magazine, 31 July 2025
Some city services remained offline as of Wednesday while others were not impacted.
—Kathryn Kovalenko, Twin Cities, 30 July 2025
Air travel is neither a haven for offline delight nor a reliable place to carry out normal online life.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 25 July 2025
There is little room for the moral complexity of offline existence when everything operates by the logic of the feed.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 23 July 2025
Consider using a data removal service to keep your personal information offline.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 22 July 2025
His embrace of Cabot has been widely parodied on- and offline.
—Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 July 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.
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Wwd China Staff, Footwear News, 4 Aug. 2025
Some of our Community Learning Centers—especially in remote areas—were previously offline for much of the time, making communication and coordination a real challenge.
—Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
SpaceX’s Starlink system might be suffering another outage, a week after the satellite internet system experienced a disruption that knocked it offline for several hours.
—PC Magazine, 31 July 2025
Some city services remained offline as of Wednesday while others were not impacted.
—Kathryn Kovalenko, Twin Cities, 30 July 2025
Air travel is neither a haven for offline delight nor a reliable place to carry out normal online life.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 25 July 2025
There is little room for the moral complexity of offline existence when everything operates by the logic of the feed.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 23 July 2025
Consider using a data removal service to keep your personal information offline.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 22 July 2025
His embrace of Cabot has been widely parodied on- and offline.
—Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Offline.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/offline. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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