off-screen

adverb or adjective

variants or offscreen
1
: out of sight of the movie or television viewer
a shot fired off-screen
Before long, Anthony introduces himself to the family pooch, who is whooshed away to an off-screen death.Kris Turnquist
2
: in private life : when not appearing in a movie, on television, etc.
Moyer's off-screen magnetism comes from a down-to-earth friendliness.Kate Hahn
Pfeiffer, 34, remains a mystery woman offscreen.Michael A. Lipton

Examples of off-screen 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.
Still, this overqualified cast continues to win me over by chewing scenery like every single one of ‘em went to the Al-Pacino-in-Heat school of acting (off-screen cocaine habit included). Andy Andersen, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2024 Colin One couple on The Diplomat even exists off-screen. Emily Blackwood, People.com, 2 Nov. 2024 The co-hosts prompted the former lovebirds to discuss their off-screen verbal confrontation in Mexico, which was reportedly so intense that Tim refused to share a hotel room with her. Monica Mercuri, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024 The situation is hardly better in the UK, where the Creative Diversity Network’s recent seventh Diamond report revealed off-screen disability representation had 8%, up 1.5% on the previous year but still miles behind the national average. Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2024 However, an off-screen confession led to a frank discussion about his three children (two girls and a boy) during episode 9. Glamour, 21 Oct. 2024 From raising his adorable dog Brisket to inviting his parents to troll him on the red carpet, Powell has won fans with his charming film performances and hilarious off-screen persona. Brendan Le, People.com, 21 Oct. 2024 Turns out there was as much romance going on off-screen as there was on. Marc Malkin, Variety, 18 Oct. 2024 Minecraft the Deep Dark Battle Set Bring this ancient Minecraft city to life off-screen with this 584-piece Lego set. Mia Huelsbeck, People.com, 7 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1916, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of off-screen was in 1916

Dictionary Entries Near off-screen

Cite this Entry

“Off-screen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/off-screen. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!