back channel

or back·chan·nel

[ bak-chan-l ]

/ ˈbæk ˌtʃæn l /

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noun

a secret, unofficial, or informal channel of communication as used in politics or diplomacy: sensitive information passed on through a back channel.

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of back channel

First recorded in 1965–70

OTHER WORDS FROM back channel

back-chan·nel, adjectiveback-chan·nel·ing, noun

Words nearby back channel

backburn, back burner, back burner, on a, backcast, back catalogue, back channel, backchat, back-check, back clipping, backcloth, backcomb

How to use back channel in a sentence

He’s somebody who I talked to quite often on a back channel, and he was on my program.
The BBC’s Katty Kay Shuts Down Men Who ‘Tell Me to Shut Up’|Eugene Robinson|January 23, 2021|Ozy
“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|DAILY BEAST
The 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|DAILY BEAST
But Cantor has since quietly held a series of back-channel conversations with the vice president.
Why the Debt Deal Faltered|Howard Kurtz|July 8, 2011|DAILY BEAST

The new uprising in the Kashmiri capital of Srinagar makes it imperative to get back to the back channel and finish the talks.
Worse Than Afghanistan|Bruce Riedel|September 25, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Esfandiari vehemently denies involvement in any type of espionage, back-channel organizations, or the CIA.
My Iranian Prison|Sandra McElwaine|September 25, 2009|DAILY BEAST
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 London
The back-channel filled up with URLs and phone numbers and email addresses.
Makers|Cory Doctorow
We 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 Kipling
Occasionally the racket from the back channel could be heard above the tumult.
The God of His Fathers|Jack London
The filter was operated from 1899 until the fall of 1907 with raw water taken from what is known as the "Back Channel."
Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXXII, June, 1911|E. D. Hardy