as in off-the-record
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Recent Examples of back-channel
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
Oman played an instrumental role in the back-channel negotiations between Iran, the United States, and Europe that led to the Iran nuclear deal in 2015.
—Galip Dalay, Time, 6 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
Michael Scherer, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
Oman played an instrumental role in the back-channel negotiations between Iran, the United States, and Europe that led to the Iran nuclear deal in 2015.
—Galip Dalay, Time, 6 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
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Sometimes these occur during our quarterly CEO forums, in public but off-the-record exchanges.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
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Puck promises off-the-record conversations with editors in their top subscription tier, and Lauren Sherman often recaps her off-the-record dinners on her podcast and in her column.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
29 Dec. 2025
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
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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
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Meanwhile, Petek says, the state has rung up $21.6 billion in off-the-books debt to cover deficits in recent fiscal years.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
20 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Manned semisubmersibles built in clandestine jungle shipyards have been used for decades to ferry cocaine north from Colombia, the world's biggest cocaine producer, to Central America or Mexico.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 Jan. 2026
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Written and directed by Jafar Panahi (known for his clandestine 2011 documentary This Is Not a Film), the story follows released political prisoners seeking revenge after a chance roadside meeting.—
Savannah Walsh,
Vanity Fair,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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But Prayer is not your humdrum, surreptitious post–Cowboy Carter cash-out.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
2 Dec. 2025
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Jamian Juliano-Villani’s friezelike painting Women, 2024, offers a surreptitious turn on Marcel Duchamp and Eadweard Muybridge by featuring an ostensibly female figure with too many (and ambiguously gendered) appendages.—
Tim Griffin,
Artforum,
1 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Over the course of the novel, each Flynn girl is suspended from school at least once for some screwball infraction, including spreading conspiratorial theories about covert surveillance operations in town, punching another kid in the face, and preparing to commit an act of domestic terrorism.—
Hannah Gold,
New Yorker,
21 Jan. 2026
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After Cruise's Ethan Hunt is falsely accused of planting a bomb that nearly obliterates the Kremlin, he is secretly tasked with exposing the real culprit, teaming with fellow agents Jane (Paula Patton) and Benji (Simon Pegg) and an intelligence analyst (Jeremy Renner) on a covert mission.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Back-channel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back-channel. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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