back-channel

adjective

Definition of back-channelnext
as in off-the-record

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of back-channel The real deals are locked in over late-night dinners, back-channel texts and quiet handshakes months in advance. — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026 The route threads through waterfront parks, past the Island Park and Wildlife Sanctuary’s back-channel islands, and along quiet residential streets. — John Godfrey Published, Midwest Living, 8 Aug. 2026 In Japan, moderates had begun back-channel discussions with the Soviet Union (with whom Japan was not at war) in an effort to end the fighting and preserve the Japanese monarchy. — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Aug. 2026 In July 1971, Henry Kissinger, then national security adviser to President Richard Nixon, arrived in Beijing on his famous secret mission — the back-channel visit that helped re-open the door between two countries that had little direct contact for more than two decades. — Xianda Huang, The Conversation, 16 May 2026 The messiness of a 13-year scientific undertaking, the back-channel negotiations, the philosophical disagreements, the institutional maneuvering — none of that fits neatly into an obituary. — Zachary Utz, STAT, 15 May 2026 The indictment alleges that after the NIH terminated a bat coronavirus grant to EcoHealth Alliance, Morens and co-conspirators pledged to help restore the grant and used back-channel communications to influence NIH funding decisions while deliberately avoiding transparency requirements. — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back-channel
  1. off-the-record
  2. closed-door
  3. off-the-books
  4. clandestine
  5. surreptitious
  6. covert
Adjective
  • Page told the Post that at the time she was summoned to an off-the-record conversation in which the White House Press and security officials told her about the secret operation.
    — Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Dialog has been described as Bilderberg (an off-the-record gathering of political and business elite) meets Silicon Valley salon.
    — Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
Definition of off-the-record
Adjective
  • Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates departs after a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on June 10, 2026.
    — Dan Mangan, CNBC, 23 June 2026
Definition of closed-door
Adjective
  • In Disclosure Day, cybersecurity expert Daniel Kellner (O’Connor) steals files confirming alien contact from the Wardex Corporation, an off-the-books non-governmental organization.
    — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026
  • But statistics fail to convey the humanity of yard sales—the caprice, whimsy, and high spirits, as well as the cunning, weirdness, and heartbreak, that charge and thicken the air when two people agree to perform an off-the-books monetary transaction.
    — Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 12 June 2026
Definition of off-the-books
Adjective
  • In reality, the clandestine operation meant that, for a portion of time, the President’s real whereabouts were seemingly unknown to—and concealed from—the White House press pool.
    — Tiago Ventura, Time, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Mexican authorities have dismantled well over a thousand clandestine drug laboratories, seized enormous quantities of narcotics and fentanyl pills, arrested thousands of cartel operatives, and extradited major criminal figures to the United States.
    — Chris Shays, Hartford Courant, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of clandestine
Adjective
  • The district attorney’s office has been less aggressive in prosecuting those who made surreptitious recordings in the past.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The surreptitious approach consists of asking AI to suggest ways to bypass the myriad restrictions.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of surreptitious
Adjective
  • Officials have gone to great lengths to keep presidents safe on covert trips before.
    — Will Weissert, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Here's a timeline of events that led to the president's covert departure.
    — Isabella Murray, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of covert

Browse Nearby Words

backbreaking
back-channel
backchat
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Cite this Entry

“Back-channel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back-channel. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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