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
For someone building an AI-companionship start-up, Schiffmann lives a strikingly offline life.
—Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2025
His agent — who had another very famous client go through something similar — begged him to stay offline.
—Seija Rankin, HollywoodReporter, 18 Dec. 2025
Brown, whose day job is in tech, emphasizes the need for offline community-building.
—Noëlle De Leeuw, Vogue, 16 Dec. 2025
Last week, city crews took one of the two transformers offline for rebuilding.
—Kansas City Star, 16 Dec. 2025
Any adventurous explorer who loves the mountains more than pavement will be disappointed that the Pace 4 doesn’t come with offline maps.
—Jakob Schiller, Outside, 15 Dec. 2025
Koretskyi declined to say what proportion of the country's gas production and storage capacities had been taken offline during this winter's attacks, citing operational security and Moscow's use of public statements and statistics to guide its strike campaign.
—David Brennan, ABC News, 10 Dec. 2025
While the company has not broadly announced the change, the move reflects how viral micro-trends can spill offline—turning ordinary service moments into flashpoints for disruption.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025
It also the vast offline archives of BBC programming and NBC News.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 10 Dec. 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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Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2025
His agent — who had another very famous client go through something similar — begged him to stay offline.
—Seija Rankin, HollywoodReporter, 18 Dec. 2025
Brown, whose day job is in tech, emphasizes the need for offline community-building.
—Noëlle De Leeuw, Vogue, 16 Dec. 2025
Last week, city crews took one of the two transformers offline for rebuilding.
—Kansas City Star, 16 Dec. 2025
Any adventurous explorer who loves the mountains more than pavement will be disappointed that the Pace 4 doesn’t come with offline maps.
—Jakob Schiller, Outside, 15 Dec. 2025
Koretskyi declined to say what proportion of the country's gas production and storage capacities had been taken offline during this winter's attacks, citing operational security and Moscow's use of public statements and statistics to guide its strike campaign.
—David Brennan, ABC News, 10 Dec. 2025
While the company has not broadly announced the change, the move reflects how viral micro-trends can spill offline—turning ordinary service moments into flashpoints for disruption.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025
It also the vast offline archives of BBC programming and NBC News.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 10 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Offline.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/offline. Accessed 23 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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