back channel
or back·chan·nel
a secret, unofficial, or informal channel of communication as used in politics or diplomacy: sensitive information passed on through a back channel.
Origin of back channel
1Other words from back channel
- back-chan·nel, adjective
- back-chan·nel·ing, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use back channel in a sentence
“It immediately erupted into this back channel of gossip,” Benedetto remembers.
A Most Illegal Adventure with New York City’s Wildest Underground Event Planners | Nina Strochlic | December 16, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe house becomes a back channel of sorts, as the men mingle over drinks and cigars and cultivate business deals.
The Business of Sex: Amy Tan’s ‘The Valley of Amazement’ on Shanghai Courtesans | Jane Ciabattari | November 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTBut Cantor has since quietly held a series of back-channel conversations with the vice president.
The new uprising in the Kashmiri capital of Srinagar makes it imperative to get back to the back channel and finish the talks.
Esfandiari vehemently denies involvement in any type of espionage, back-channel organizations, or the CIA.
The far shore was a full mile away, while between the island and the near shore lay a back-channel perhaps a hundred yards across.
The God of His Fathers | Jack LondonThe back-channel filled up with URLs and phone numbers and email addresses.
Makers | Cory DoctorowWe were trying to get up a slue, or back channel, by a short cut, and the stern-wheel never spun twice in the same direction.
From Sea to Sea | Rudyard KiplingOccasionally the racket from the back channel could be heard above the tumult.
The God of His Fathers | Jack LondonThe filter was operated from 1899 until the fall of 1907 with raw water taken from what is known as the "back channel."
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