back channel

American  

[bak chan-l] / ˈbæk ˌtʃæn l /

Or backchannel

noun

1. a secret, unofficial, or informal channel of communication as used in politics or diplomacy.

   sensitive information passed on through a back channel.

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Other Word Forms

• back-channeling
  noun
• back-channel
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of back channel

First recorded in 1965–70

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

back channel

To buttress their argument that an expert cannot be used as a back channel for “inadmissible hearsay,” they pointed to a nonexistent 2021 case brought by the government.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Muscat served as the back channel for talks between the United States and Iran in the lead-up to the 2015 nuclear deal and mediated several rounds of talks during Trump's second term.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

They say it would prefer to play the role of back channel facilitator, which Islamabad held in talks with the Taliban over the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026

In that email, Costello told Cohen he spoke with Giuliani, who “said thank you for opening this back channel of communication and asked me to keep in touch.”

From Salon ● May 21, 2024

“Den we tak to das back channel, where de water not queek, and I t’ink we mak good tam.”

From The God of His Fathers: Tales of the Klondyke by Jack London

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