off-screen
adverb or adjective
variants
or offscreen
1
: out of sight of the movie or television viewer
a shot fired off-screen
Before long, Anthony introduces himself to the family pooch, who is whooshed away to an off-screen death.—
Kris Turnquist
Kris Turnquist2
: in private life : when not appearing in a movie, on television, etc.
Moyer's off-screen magnetism comes from a down-to-earth friendliness.—Kate Hahn
Kate HahnPfeiffer, 34, remains a mystery woman offscreen.—Michael A. Lipton
Michael A. LiptonExamples of off-screen in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
A couple both on- and off-screen, Rory Kinnear and Pandora Colin are parents to two children.
—Yasmeen Hamadeh, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2025
For large stretches, the violence in Red Alert takes place just off-screen.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2025
The duo’s on-screen chemistry mirrored their off-screen closeness, with Witherspoon describing their bond as lifelong.
—Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 4 Oct. 2025
Their characters, Mindy and Nico, went their separate ways in last year's season 4, and now PEOPLE has confirmed that the two have ended their own off-screen romance after almost two years together.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025
Their collaboration continued off-screen, with the launch of The Wedding Dance School in 2020, which helps couples choreograph their first dance.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
DiCaprio has done very few comedies and may have been eager to stretch those muscles; climate change, a major theme of the film, is the signature DiCaprio off-screen cause; heck, Christian Bale got an Oscar nomination for McKay’s last movie.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Yasmeen Hamadeh, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2025
For large stretches, the violence in Red Alert takes place just off-screen.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2025
The duo’s on-screen chemistry mirrored their off-screen closeness, with Witherspoon describing their bond as lifelong.
—Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 4 Oct. 2025
Their characters, Mindy and Nico, went their separate ways in last year's season 4, and now PEOPLE has confirmed that the two have ended their own off-screen romance after almost two years together.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025
Their collaboration continued off-screen, with the launch of The Wedding Dance School in 2020, which helps couples choreograph their first dance.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
DiCaprio has done very few comedies and may have been eager to stretch those muscles; climate change, a major theme of the film, is the signature DiCaprio off-screen cause; heck, Christian Bale got an Oscar nomination for McKay’s last movie.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Off-screen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/off-screen. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share