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
By the time the offline assay confirmed what the cells were doing, hours had passed, and the batch was unrecoverable.
—Hamid Noori, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
After July 15th the site and app will be fully offline.
—Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 28 May 2026
At the same time, existing resources are not always being fully utilized, such as the Bristol Hotel, which has had 18 units offline for months.
—Mercury News Editorial Board, Mercury News, 26 May 2026
The authors warn that this concentration creates systemic risks beyond bias — if a single dominant vendor goes offline or is found to be producing discriminatory outcomes, hiring at thousands of employers could be disrupted simultaneously.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 26 May 2026
This Mac-only dictation tool uses OpenAI’s Whisper model to transcribe speech up to 3x faster than typing, with zero latency and full offline processing.
—Stackcommerce Team, PC Magazine, 25 May 2026
Boisvert then threw to second, trying to nail Goode on the play, but the throw was offline, and went to the wall in center, and allowed everyone to score for a 5-1 lead.
—Gary Curreri, Sun Sentinel, 23 May 2026
Trolls can thrive on- and offline.
—Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 22 May 2026
That number could balloon as Runway 4/22 stays offline into Saturday.
—Holly Yan, CNN Money, 22 May 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.
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Hamid Noori, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
After July 15th the site and app will be fully offline.
—Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 28 May 2026
At the same time, existing resources are not always being fully utilized, such as the Bristol Hotel, which has had 18 units offline for months.
—Mercury News Editorial Board, Mercury News, 26 May 2026
The authors warn that this concentration creates systemic risks beyond bias — if a single dominant vendor goes offline or is found to be producing discriminatory outcomes, hiring at thousands of employers could be disrupted simultaneously.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 26 May 2026
This Mac-only dictation tool uses OpenAI’s Whisper model to transcribe speech up to 3x faster than typing, with zero latency and full offline processing.
—Stackcommerce Team, PC Magazine, 25 May 2026
Boisvert then threw to second, trying to nail Goode on the play, but the throw was offline, and went to the wall in center, and allowed everyone to score for a 5-1 lead.
—Gary Curreri, Sun Sentinel, 23 May 2026
Trolls can thrive on- and offline.
—Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 22 May 2026
That number could balloon as Runway 4/22 stays offline into Saturday.
—Holly Yan, CNN Money, 22 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Offline.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/offline. Accessed 1 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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