offline

adjective

off·​line ˈȯf-ˈlīn 

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

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

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

off-line adverb

Examples of offline in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The company plans to maintain its offline training policy until improvements in security and monitoring justify broader access. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 23 Oct. 2026

The government announced 32 of its services were offline, though there is no indication of a breach. — Will Barker, TheWeek, 23 Oct. 2026

For over a decade, the only paper trail of these purchases were offline, stored in filing cabinets, inaccessible to the public. — Amanda Aronczyk, NPR, 23 Oct. 2026

Even Pokémon Home and Pokémon Champions were taken offline, Kotaku reports. — Terrence O'Brien, The Verge, 23 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1919, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for offline

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• brucine
• byline

Kids 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