back channel
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of back channel
First recorded in 1965–70
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
These talks went on for a month, completely in a back channel.
From Slate • Nov. 24, 2025
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
Each of them had a different suggestion to make, ranging from dragging through a half-empty back channel just below the town to taking the boat out and running it down the track on a push-cart.
From Down the Columbia by Freeman, Lewis R. (Lewis Ransome)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
