off-the-record

American  

[awf-thuh-rek-erd, of-] / ˈɔf ðəˈrɛk ərd, ˈɒf- /

adjective

1. not for publication; not to be quoted.

   a candidate's off-the-record remarks to reporters.

2. confidential.

   off-the-record information.

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off the record British  

adjective

1. not intended for publication or disclosure; confidential

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adverb

1. with such an intention; unofficially

off the record Idioms  

1. Unofficially, in confidence, not for publication, as in What he was about to say, he told the reporters, was strictly off the record. Probably alluding to striking evidence from a court record (because it is irrelevant or improper), this term came into wide use in the mid-1900s, especially with reference to persons who did not wish to be quoted by journalists. For antonyms, see go on record; just for the record.

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Etymology

Origin of off-the-record

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

He paused to verify that the event was off-the-record before commenting on Powell, who has had a public battle with Trump and is set to be succeeded by Kevin Warsh atop the Federal Reserve:

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026

During that interview, he took an off-the-record call with Petro.

From Salon • Feb. 5, 2026

Mr. Lewis said he’d had an off-the-record conversation with the reporter, whom he described as “an activist, not a journalist.”

From New York Times • Jun. 17, 2024

Or do they treat the beef as a kind of off-the-record exhibition game, as Lamar says in “Meet the Grahams” he initially intended?

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2024

“No amount of bombing can end the war,” an exhausted-looking McNamara told a few reporters in an off-the-record discussion in February.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• confidentially
• privately