off-the-books

adjective

Definition of off-the-booksnext
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 off-the-books 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 Jeff Shell, the former president of Paramount Skydance, has resolved litigation with a gambler who accused him of leaking confidential company information and who sought $150 million for off-the-books crisis PR work. — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 11 June 2026 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 Another has an off-the-books wager against OpenAI, which is privately held. — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 26 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for off-the-books
Recent Examples of Synonyms for off-the-books
  1. off-the-record
  2. clandestine
  3. closed-door
  4. surreptitious
  5. undercover
  6. back-channel
  7. covert
  8. private
Adjective
  • In all, the on-the-record remarks lasted about 30 minutes and were followed by a larger off-the-record mixer with the media involving additional Skydance executives.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Sacramento Kings media day Monday apparently came with some off-the-record player reviews that accidentally went on the record.
    — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of off-the-record
Adjective
  • 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
  • The Soviet Union operated an extensive clandestine biological weapons program despite being a party to the Biological Weapons Convention.
    — Krutika Kuppalli, STAT, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of clandestine
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
  • 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
Adjective
  • The show revolved around Crockett and Tubbs, two undercover detectives infiltrating South Florida’s criminal underworld.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
  • At its center is a youngish man named Bob Arctor, an undercover cop who starts using drugs in order to infiltrate a house full of addicts in Southern California.
    — Hilton Als, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of undercover
Adjective
  • 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
  • Pakistan has been an important back-channel player in reaching Iran, and the positive tone of its comments eased oil markets a bit.
    — Brian Sullivan, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of back-channel
Adjective
  • There has been serious buzz recently about the film series focused on the United States conducting covert actions against drug cartels.
    — David Hookstead OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Flashbacks to recent events reveal that the townspeople never let Hal find peace, and even firebombed his home, only for a grown-up Noah — Kerry’s son, and Zoe’s grandson — to save him and regenerate his skin using Zoe’s covert alien tech.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of covert
Adjective
  • The dining room has 28 seats, a private event space holds 10, and the menu proposes just three Milanese and Lombardian dishes for each of the antipasti, primi, and secondi courses (four for dessert).
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Mercury in your 4th House quincunxes Saturn in your 9th, creating a mismatch between private realities and bigger plans involving travel, education, beliefs, or the future.
    — Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of private

Browse Nearby Words

off the bat
off-the-books
off-the-cuff
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Off-the-books.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off-the-books. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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