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• off-the-record
  off-the-record

  adjective

  not for publication; not to be quoted.
• off the record
  off the record

  adjective

  not intended for publication or disclosure; confidential

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 not for publication; not to be quoted.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 Unofficially, in confidence, not for publication, as in What he was about to say, he told the reporters, was strictly off the record.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

See Examples For:

off-the-record off the record

In 2022, James Bullard, then the president of the St. Louis Fed, spoke at an off-the-record, invitation-only Citigroup forum for clients on the sidelines of meetings of the International Monetary Fund.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

You do, at times, hear deeply off-the-record mutterings from parts of German industry to this effect.

From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2026

She was also reported to have privately disparaged the show’s correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, who reported the segment, to journalists in off-the-record briefings.

From Salon ● Feb. 18, 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

“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

“We are just over 5% off the record high,” Turnquist of the S&P 500.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 19, 2026

The hearing abruptly went off the record as staff scrambled to figure out who had violated House rules.

From Salon ● Feb. 27, 2026

Amazingly that is still some way off the record for the most goals in a calendar year, which is currently held by Lionel Messi.

From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025

Mr. Whipple, in his media victory lap, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that normally when he’s spoken to former chiefs of staff they’ve toggled between background, off the record and on.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

They lean down to confer with their clients, go on and off the record, consult their calendars.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater

Related Words

• confidentially
• privately