off-the-books

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 Out of other options, Rowan turns to her ex-boyfriend — geneticist Sam Larkin, who’s on the cusp of literally curing blindness(?!) — for an off-the-books testing of Lasher’s genetics. Andy Swift, TVLine, 5 Jan. 2025 Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the worry primarily concerned the use of such off-the-books ships to circumvent Western sanctions and generate revenue to fuel the Kremlin’s war machine. Michael Schwirtz, New York Times, 28 Dec. 2024 An elite task force of investigators has its hands full when an off-the-books max-security prison sees a massive breach, leading to the escape of the most notorious convicts. Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 21 Dec. 2024 Three-quarters of Zimbabweans toil in the informal workforce, one of the highest rates of off-the-books work in the world. Tawanda Karombo, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for off-the-books
Recent Examples of Synonyms for off-the-books
Adjective
  • However, the meeting after the meeting creates an environment where decisions are often undone or altered by informal, off-the-record conversations.
    Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Driving the news: In off-the-record hallway conversations, background roundtables, and on-the-record interviews, decision-makers were largely interested in gas, carbon capture, and sustainable aviation fuel.
    Alan Neuhauser, Axios, 11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Taking over a century-old garden house hidden within Shanghai’s storied alleys, Samuel Gui Yang softly partitioned the space, seducing the audience yet making every one of them a clandestine voyeur.
    Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 1 Apr. 2025
  • In a display of gallows humor at the sloppiness of the leaders’ theoretically clandestine communication, people online quickly turned those symbols into memes, and renamed their own chats Houthi PC small group.
    Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Last week, Hvar's city council voted in a closed-door meeting to keep noise restrictions this summer to 85 decibels and below – the equivalent of a noisy restaurant or heavy traffic, according to Croatian media outlet Dnevnik.
    Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2025
  • The closed-door congressional negotiations around the reconciliation bill are creating a climate of uncertainty that's more paralyzing than any winter storm.
    Rob Day, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The first surreptitious shots of Robbie in costume, however, lit up the internet anew.
    Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2025
  • The department has been criticized for using surreptitious means to collect DNA, like grabbing a soda can used by a suspect after questioning.
    Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Alan Ritchson says Reacher is the American James Bond Reacher works with DEA agents Susan Duffy (Cassidy) and Guillermo Villanueva (Roberto Montesinos) to go undercover in the rug-importing front, which is led by businessman Zachary Beck (Hall).
    Randall Colburn, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2025
  • To investigate further, the DEA had five undercover officers visit his clinic to see whether Hollington would prescribe them medications without legit medical reasons between February and July 2022, prosecutors said.
    Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Then Gungnir covert sniper rifle seems like a bargain, relatively speaking, at just $12,867.
    Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
  • In the letter, Grassley wrote that the records would help shine a light on the Nazi planning of the covert escape routes.
    Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Elsewhere is a cozy study for getting some work done, while both a private garden and a rooftop terrace serve as ideal spots for dining alfresco when the London weather decides to cooperate.
    Tori Latham, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2025
  • The owner’s bridge deck suite features a circular private deck with great views.
    Kathleen Turner, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Access is another issue: The chief noted that the department had even faced blazes in underground storm drains.
    Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Apr. 2025
  • In closed briefings, Pentagon officials have acknowledged that there has been only limited success in destroying the Houthis’ vast, largely underground arsenal of missiles, drones and launchers, according to congressional aides and allies.
    Farnaz Fassihi, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2025

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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 11 Apr. 2025.

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