as in off-the-record
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Recent Examples of back-channel
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back-channel
Adjective
-
Conecta Summit, an invitation-only session, will bring together 20 senior international executives from studios, streamers, production companies and big tech in a closed-door, off-the-record setting.—
Emiliano de Pablos,
Variety,
11 May 2026
-
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
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
-
Dark, dim, and a little grungy, with its scuffed checkerboard floors, worn old couches, peeling walls, and chalkboard menus, La Factoria feels like a clandestine underground speakeasy.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 May 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
TiVo is often chastised for being surreptitious about its data collection practices and its failure to provide a clear privacy policy.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
14 May 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
Amarteifio and Edebiri have an understated chemistry that makes the covert passion between these two women believable.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
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These UUVs are becoming increasingly capable of autonomous operations and performing adaptive search patterns enabling wide area covert operations.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Back-channel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back-channel. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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