off-the-record

adjective

Definition of off-the-recordnext
as in closed-door

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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 off-the-record The Ukrainian president made the remarks during a two-hour off-the-record meeting with reporters on Saturday, with a transcript released publicly on Sunday. — ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026 Defense attorney Russell Wilson’s opening statements centered on Roach’s decision to close the overflow courtroom during the majority of the trial and multiple off-the-record proceedings that occurred, Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV reported. — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Aug. 2026 Anthony’s lawyers also accuse prosecutors of breaking an off-the-record agreement about character evidence and other alleged acts unrelated to the murder charge. — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 19 Aug. 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for off-the-record
Recent Examples of Synonyms for off-the-record
  1. closed-door
  2. off-the-books
  3. back-channel
  4. confidential
  5. clandestine
  6. surreptitious
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 China, trillions of dollars of off-the-books debt have piled up at the local rather than the national level, as local governments borrowed public funds to invest in residential real estate and infrastructure.
    — NIALL FERGUSON, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2026
  • According to interviews and records, Perera built an off-the-books real estate and construction business, parts of which operated in Ohio.
    — Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of off-the-books
Adjective
  • There was also a proposal for an AI-hotline-style back-channel between the two countries to provide early warning and additional context should rogue AI conduct unplanned operations.
    — Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Rubio has led back-channel talks with Raúl Castro’s grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, but Cuban officials say talks with the administration are at a stalemate.
    — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of back-channel
Adjective
  • In April, a US Army soldier was arrested and charged with using confidential information to make $410,000 in Polymarket bets on the timing of the military’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
    — Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Keeping the information confidential was consistent with state protocol, a spokesperson in his department said, adding that it was still shared with local health officials.
    — Nat Lash, ProPublica, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of confidential
Adjective
  • The arrest, the official explained, came after the Attorney General’s Office concluded that there had been misconduct in an April operation in which state officials dismantled a clandestine drug-manufacturing laboratory.
    — Mauricio Torres, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Bridgers’ tour restricts phones, so the reader’s account had to stand in for the clandestine photo that might otherwise have accompanied the sighting.
    — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of clandestine
Adjective
  • Many hosts report resistance, in the forms of surreptitious card-shuffling and outright complaints.
    — Judith Martin, Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • To unearth these surreptitious practices, Gamers Nexus partnered up with independent security researchers and Level1Techs.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of surreptitious

Browse Nearby Words

off-the-rack
off-the-record
off-the-shelf
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Off-the-record.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off-the-record. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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