on-message
adjective
focused on the central theme or official message of a political, business, or other organization.
Jump To:
-
on-message
-
on message
on messageadjective(on-message when prenominal) adhering to or reflecting the official line of a political party, government, or other organization
on-message
American
[on-mes-ij, awn‐]
/ ˈɒnˈmɛs ɪdʒ, ˈɔn‐ /
adjective
on message
British
adjective
Etymology
Origin of on-message
First recorded in 1995–2000; on ( def. ) + message ( def. )
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.
See Examples For:
But Elordi seemed less on-message when I asked him whether this had really happened.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026
After the event, O’Dea was likewise exhaustingly on-message taking questions from reporters.
From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2022
Kiggans, a relentlessly on-message candidate, was signaling that she cares about what voters care about.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 26, 2022
But overall, Fivio said with a politician’s on-message discipline, he is hoping to divorce drill’s distinct musical quirks from its expected subject matter.
From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2022
“What matters in Iowa is that she’s here, she’s on-message and her campaign is making their goals in terms of contacts, precinct captains. The nuts and bolts need to work,” he said.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 2, 2019
If the discussion keeps going in circles, outline the objectives to keep people on message.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Musically, the film is best viewed and heard as an artifact: Lennon’s voice is in great shape, but he wasn’t in his most fertile songwriting stage, mostly because he’d focused on message songs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025
"There has been so much change with England in terms of backroom staff that it is very difficult to stay on message when the message changes all the time," he said.
From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2024
We get an opportunity to have conversations about creative storytelling that still stays on message for her.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2024
At the receiving end the tape was taken by other clerks who translated the Morse characters into ordinary words, which were written on message blanks for delivery to persons for whom the messages were intended.
From Edison, His Life and Inventions by Frank Lewis Dyer
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.
