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

In 2025, Vivaia surpassed 75 stores worldwide, with offline performance doubling year-over-year, the company said. —Stephen Garner, Footwear News, 12 Jan. 2026

Keep primary savings accounts offline or set to view-only access. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 11 Jan. 2026

Its website is offline, and emails sent to its general address bounce back. —Aaron Mondry, Freep.com, 8 Jan. 2026

The match was available to view in full on the ITF website, but it has since been taken offline, without explanation. —Don Riddell, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026

The system can act on a user’s behalf using device capabilities and local AI, including offline processing. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 7 Jan. 2026

Pratt and Montag sued the city in January after their Palisades house burned down, arguing that the Santa Ynez reservoir should not have been offline and empty when the fire erupted. —Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 7 Jan. 2026

Chillers are so critical to data centers that in November, when the devices were accidentally knocked offline at a facility used by the trading giant CME Group, temperatures inside the data center rose too much, leading to an equipment shutdown. —Steve Kopack, NBC news, 6 Jan. 2026

These gatherings, which have been popular for more than a century, are roaring back as professionals seek connections that are personal, offline and without distraction. —Bill Connolly, Rolling Stone, 30 Dec. 2025

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
• byline
• canine

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