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 Another has an off-the-books wager against OpenAI, which is privately held. — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 26 Feb. 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 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 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
  • Dialog has been described as Bilderberg (an off-the-record gathering of political and business elite) meets Silicon Valley salon.
    — Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
  • 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.
    — Max Tani, semafor.com, 8 June 2026
Definition of off-the-record
Adjective
  • Mexican authorities have dismantled well over a thousand clandestine drug laboratories, seized enormous quantities of narcotics and fentanyl pills, arrested thousands of cartel operatives, and extradited major criminal figures to the United States.
    — Chris Shays, Hartford Courant, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Throughout the previous four years, Russia has, for example, sent drones and clandestine operatives to disrupt European defense production facilities, military bases, and transport infrastructure.
    — Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 31 July 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
  • The surreptitious approach consists of asking AI to suggest ways to bypass the myriad restrictions.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • New York is banning smart glasses in courts across the state, pointing to the threat of surreptitious video recordings.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 9 July 2026
Definition of surreptitious
Adjective
  • Wong haunts the stories of the Floridian smugglers, connected to many of the feuds and undercover operations.
    — Rory Doherty, Time, 6 Aug. 2026
  • There’s a dizzying amount of outlandish behavior going on, from chimps with a taste for cocaine, to a former drug dealer who is devoted to reptiles and on to those who engage in intense undercover sting operations.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of undercover
Adjective
  • In Japan, moderates had begun back-channel discussions with the Soviet Union (with whom Japan was not at war) in an effort to end the fighting and preserve the Japanese monarchy.
    — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of back-channel
Adjective
  • During cybersecurity evaluations in May, its models used a covert message board to coordinate across runs, leaving later versions instructions for reaching the open internet.
    — Harry Booth, Time, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The task force is reportedly staffing up with officers who specialize in recruiting informants, intelligence analysis, cyber operations and covert influence campaigns.
    — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of covert
Adjective
  • For context, the median private SaaS company generates about $141,000 of revenue per employee, while the leading AI-native companies are running at twenty times that or more.
    — Michael Wee, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Greece’s firefighting department said Sunday the fire apparently began from sparks emitted by a faulty power line transporting electricity from a private wind generator facility to the main electricity network.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Aug. 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 9 Aug. 2026.

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