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
The coming-of-age drama does a great job at capturing the messiness of young love, but off-screen, several of the cast members are in happy, long-term relationships.
—Kelsey Lentz, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Kirsten Dunst's next turn on the big screen may earn big laughs, but there was some harrowing drama off-screen.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2025
Kayla told Newsweek via TikTok that the cat's interruption went on for about five minutes before her husband finally picked Bee up and shooed her off-screen.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
As images reach us in fragments, sound weaves a continuity from off-screen to on-screen, carrying the emotion through the film and irrigating the streams of images, like water flowing.
—Cátia Rodrigues, Variety, 16 Aug. 2025
The pair also had a brief relationship off-screen.
—Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2025
These days, Anderson-Emmons is traveling, making music, and enjoying the experience of reaching personal milestones off-screen, for a change.
—Quispe López, Them., 8 Aug. 2025
Images of bodies, vegetation, and police vehicles flood the frames of Nicolas Gourault’s film with fields of blocky pixellation, as off-screen voices offer testimony about the work of visual data analysis.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 Aug. 2025
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Kelsey Lentz, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Kirsten Dunst's next turn on the big screen may earn big laughs, but there was some harrowing drama off-screen.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2025
Kayla told Newsweek via TikTok that the cat's interruption went on for about five minutes before her husband finally picked Bee up and shooed her off-screen.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
As images reach us in fragments, sound weaves a continuity from off-screen to on-screen, carrying the emotion through the film and irrigating the streams of images, like water flowing.
—Cátia Rodrigues, Variety, 16 Aug. 2025
The pair also had a brief relationship off-screen.
—Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2025
These days, Anderson-Emmons is traveling, making music, and enjoying the experience of reaching personal milestones off-screen, for a change.
—Quispe López, Them., 8 Aug. 2025
Images of bodies, vegetation, and police vehicles flood the frames of Nicolas Gourault’s film with fields of blocky pixellation, as off-screen voices offer testimony about the work of visual data analysis.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Off-screen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/off-screen. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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