as in off-the-record
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Recent Examples of back-channel
At the center of the potential outreach is Vice President JD Vance, who is being considered for a return trip to Islamabad, where back-channel negotiations have quietly taken place.
—
Sara Cook, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026
Epstein, the records show, tried to initiate a back-channel meeting between the Saudi crown prince and Qatar’s ex-prime minister.
—Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2026
Elyssa Slotkin, Jeanne Shaheen, and Tim Kaine to back-channel conversations have been poo-poo’d by party leadership as unhelpful.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 18 Mar. 2026
Both the president’s team and the rule-of-law defenders launched back-channel negotiations with the capitalists.
—Michael Scherer, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
Pras was also accused of using this money to create a back-channel campaign to extradite the Chinese dissident Guo Wengui back to China from the United States.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Nov. 2025
While the university has focussed on back-channel diplomacy, Maine’s Democratic government has gone to court.
—Emma Green, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
The summit marked the culmination of several months of back-channel diplomacy.
—Katya Soldak, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Sara Cook, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026
Epstein, the records show, tried to initiate a back-channel meeting between the Saudi crown prince and Qatar’s ex-prime minister.
—Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2026
Elyssa Slotkin, Jeanne Shaheen, and Tim Kaine to back-channel conversations have been poo-poo’d by party leadership as unhelpful.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 18 Mar. 2026
Both the president’s team and the rule-of-law defenders launched back-channel negotiations with the capitalists.
—Michael Scherer, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
Pras was also accused of using this money to create a back-channel campaign to extradite the Chinese dissident Guo Wengui back to China from the United States.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Nov. 2025
While the university has focussed on back-channel diplomacy, Maine’s Democratic government has gone to court.
—Emma Green, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
The summit marked the culmination of several months of back-channel diplomacy.
—Katya Soldak, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back-channel
Adjective
-
The paper reported that Williamson and Wilkins never met, had one off-the-record phone call, and exchanged emails during the course of Williamson’s reporting.—
Staff Author,
PEOPLE,
24 Apr. 2026
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But through time, trust and many off-the-record conversations, those six people helped create a foundation that would eventually lead them to the CEOs.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Rubio, who is also Trump’s national security adviser, was one of three U.S. officials to participate in a closed-door meeting with the Russian delegation on Friday in Alaska.—
Alexis Simendinger,
The Hill,
20 Aug. 2025
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The revelation was made by House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) after Barr testified in a closed-door interview during the House Oversight Committee’s investigation of the federal government’s handling of Epstein’s case.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
In 1985, Marty McFly (played by Lucas Hallauer) is a skateboarding high schooler who is accidentally sent back to 1955 in a time machine — ensconced in a DeLorean sports car — by nutty off-the-books scientist Doc Brown (David Josefsberg).—
Rod Stafford Hagwood,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Feb. 2026
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The eponymous security droid protagonist (played by Alexander Skarsgård) actually chose its own name and, thanks to some off-the-books hacking, developed free will.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
22 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Darrell Lee Vannostran, 40, was booked after he was arrested for the use of photo or video equipment in a clandestine manner in a private place.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2026
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In January, authorities announced more than 1,500 pounds of meth were seized from clandestine laboratories in the states of Durango, Sinaloa and Michoacán.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Over the following 12 days, investigators determined that Lulinski had used his cell phone on multiple occasions to take inappropriate and surreptitious photos or videos of minors during normal school activities.—
CBS Atlanta Digital Team,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
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Remember, this is Augusta National, where the surreptitious use of a cellphone is grounds for immediate banishment.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Indeed, our research suggests AI chatbots could easily be used for covert advertising to manipulate their human users.—
Brian Jay Tang,
The Conversation,
24 Apr. 2026
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In a series first, Captain Sig Hansen launches an unprecedented covert scouting mission, deploying an underwater drone into the unknown waters in a bold attempt to locate the rare strain of king crab before the rest of the fleet arrives.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Back-channel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back-channel. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
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