: not reported or recorded
off-the-books transactions
off-the-books covert operations
off the books adverb

Examples of off-the-books in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This second Adam and Eve are at odds because Adam, a trans man, is pregnant, and his sister, a scientist and genetic researcher, has volunteered to be his off-the-books OBGYN, helping him and his partner Fox (Ryan Jamaal Swain) through the pregnancy. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2025 While some people are finding off-the-books employment as waiters or tour guides, experts say tourism is failing to bring a substantial increase in higher wage jobs. Gianni Cipriano, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2025 Out of other options, Rowan turns to her ex-boyfriend — geneticist Sam Larkin, who’s on the cusp of literally curing blindness(?!) — for an off-the-books testing of Lasher’s genetics. Andy Swift, TVLine, 5 Jan. 2025 Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the worry primarily concerned the use of such off-the-books ships to circumvent Western sanctions and generate revenue to fuel the Kremlin’s war machine. Michael Schwirtz, New York Times, 28 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for off-the-books

Word History

First Known Use

1975, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of off-the-books was in 1975

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Cite this Entry

“Off-the-books.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/off-the-books. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.

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