as in off-the-record
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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-books
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
Helen sends him on an off-the-books job to the London Mother House to use his mind-probing powers on Jasper (William Fichtner), a powerful vampire with a personal vendetta against the Talamasca.
—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
25 Oct. 2025
Helen wants him for an off-the-books quest to find a possibly mythical object called the Seven Five Two, and an even more off-the-books quest to find answers about a formative childhood trauma involving the Talamasca.
—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Oct. 2025
Scott got his first paying job at age 11, an off-the-books gig at A Bicycle Odyssey, a bike shop in Sausalito, California, frequented by the likes of Robin Williams, members of the band The Grateful Dead and Huey Lewis.
—
Brenda Goodman,
CNN Money,
20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for off-the-books
Rod Stafford Hagwood,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Feb. 2026
Helen sends him on an off-the-books job to the London Mother House to use his mind-probing powers on Jasper (William Fichtner), a powerful vampire with a personal vendetta against the Talamasca.
—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
25 Oct. 2025
Helen wants him for an off-the-books quest to find a possibly mythical object called the Seven Five Two, and an even more off-the-books quest to find answers about a formative childhood trauma involving the Talamasca.
—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Oct. 2025
Scott got his first paying job at age 11, an off-the-books gig at A Bicycle Odyssey, a bike shop in Sausalito, California, frequented by the likes of Robin Williams, members of the band The Grateful Dead and Huey Lewis.
—
Brenda Goodman,
CNN Money,
20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for off-the-books
Recent Examples of Synonyms for off-the-books
Adjective
-
Dialog has been described as Bilderberg (an off-the-record gathering of political and business elite) meets Silicon Valley salon.
-
As late as last week, Weiss was still expected to speak at The Seminar, an off-the-record gathering of PR professionals in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Adjective
-
Some may be announced publicly; others may happen in more clandestine ways.
-
But clandestine flows aren’t the biggest factor behind the market calm.
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.
-
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.
Adjective
-
These cybercriminals are like the Hollywood movie character Jason Bourne, a highly surreptitious operative who avoids detection through diversion, disguises, deflecting and blending into the environment.
-
Related Stories Known to be a rebellious royal and a surreptitious anti-fascist, Maria José then moved to Portugal and soon left her husband.
Adjective
-
According to his plea agreement with prosecutors, Doyle sold a Glock pistol to an undercover informant on May 20, 2025 — part of a series of transactions on Chicago’s South Side that led to his arrest on July 7, 2025, a few days after the shooting at his daughter’s party.
-
Whether openly or undercover, MSV doesn’t just fail shareholders.
Adjective
-
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.
-
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.
Adjective
-
After 1996, when the protease inhibitors were developed, the duty to warn continued to be an important standard when HIV status became more clinically covert.
-
Authorities say the rogue drone operation led out of a former daycare in Georgia was a staging ground where multiple drones were launched on covert missions to deliver the contraband by air to 10 federal prisons at night.
Adjective
-
Rodríguez also said the country’s entire public and private healthcare network had been activated to treat the injured, urging doctors, nurses and other medical personnel to report immediately to their workplaces.
-
Delta Air Lines is metro Atlanta's largest private employer.
Cite this Entry
“Off-the-books.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off-the-books. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
