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 In Disclosure Day, cybersecurity expert Daniel Kellner (O’Connor) steals files confirming alien contact from the Wardex Corporation, an off-the-books non-governmental organization. — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026 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 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
  • 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
  • This year has seen several notable incidents involving both overt and covert threats to undersea infrastructure, including Iranian efforts to impose fees on operators of undersea cables running through the contested Strait of Hormuz.
    — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 14 Oct. 2026
  • From hippies to covert racists, psychedelics to cult-like workshop leaders, this is a world where any difference is still scrutinized and looked down on.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of covert
Adjective
  • Debt acts as a ceiling on private investment, further stifling growth.
    — Masood Ahmed, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The spending was channelled through private contractor Chemonics.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of private

Browse Nearby Words

off the bat
off-the-books
off-the-cuff
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Cite this Entry

“Off-the-books.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off-the-books. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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