as in off-the-record
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Recent Examples of back-channel
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
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
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
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Polk estimates that the majority of gamblers who don’t have other sources of income, such as sponsorships or social media channels, will either fail to turn a profit under the new rules or begin playing in more off-the-books games.—
Ryan Ermey,
CNBC,
21 Apr. 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
Filling out the role of Ilya is Jay Armstrong Johnson; Jimin Moon plays Shane; Ryann Redmond plays a wine-mom narrator who lives for their clandestine love.—
Dan Stahl,
New Yorker,
1 May 2026
-
For those escaping to Philadelphia from regions nearer to Pennsylvania, clandestine travel by small boat or by road was more likely than stowing away on a steamship.—
Jeremy Mennis,
The Conversation,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
The upside of the bar's surreptitious locale is sometimes not having to share it with a soul; the downside is the potential lack of a pool partner, so bring your own.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Apr. 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
Lothar Speer During his sentencing in 2024, federal prosecutors said the full damage caused by Rocha's decades-long covert relationship with Cuba may never be fully known.—
Sergio Candido,
CBS News,
8 May 2026
-
Ukraine has also conducted long-range covert drone strikes launched from within Russian territory, including attacks on strategic airbases using drones concealed in trucks or civilian infrastructure, demonstrating the increasing reach of low-cost UAV systems into deep strategic targets.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Back-channel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back-channel. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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