Offline

(1) Not connected. For example, all printers have a switch that allows you to turn them offline. While the printer is offline, you can perform certain commands like advancing the paper (form feed), but you cannot print documents sent from the computer. The opposite of offline is online.

(2) Aside from its technical meaning, offline is used frequently in a more general sense to describe events that occur outside of a standard procedure. For example, if somebody at a meeting says “let’s continue this discussion offline,” it means “let’s discuss it informally at another time.”

The term is alternatively spelled as off-line.

Webopedia Staff
Webopedia Staff
Since 1995, more than 100 tech experts and researchers have kept Webopedia’s definitions, articles, and study guides up to date. For more information on current editorial staff, please visit our About page.

Related Articles

@ Sign

Pronounced at sign or simply as at, this symbol is used in e-mail addressing to separate the user' name from the user's domain name,...

Munging

(MUHN-jing) Munging (address munging), is the act of altering an email address posted on a Web page to make it unreadable to bots and...

How to Create an RSS Feed

In the second installment of RSS how-to, we look at some of the nonrequired (optional) channel and item tags, discuss RSS specifications in-depth and...

Dictionary Attack

(n.) (1) A method used to break security systems, specifically password-based security systems, in which the attacker systematically tests all possible passwords beginning with...

ScalaHosting

ScalaHosting is a leading managed hosting provider that offers secure, scalable, and affordable...

HRIS

Human resources information system (HRIS) solutions help businesses manage multiple facets of their...

Best Managed Service Providers...

In today's business world, managed services are more critical than ever. They can...