: an act or instance of reproducing recorded sound or pictures often immediately after recording
played back; playing back; plays back
: to perform a playback of (a usually recently recorded disc or tape)
Examples of playback in a Sentence
Noun
The band listened to a playback of their first recording.
Recent Examples on the Web
K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 31 Mar. 2025
Once a record begins playing, the mechanics are disengaged completely, preserving the playback quality.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025
Dalton Ross, EW.com, 26 Mar. 2025
Paal then has no option, under pressure from the American, but to play back even further to Morgan Fox.
—Beren Cross, The Athletic, 19 Mar. 2025
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Noun
Battery life is solid, with five and a half hours of video playback at full brightness on a single charge.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 31 Mar. 2025
Once a record begins playing, the mechanics are disengaged completely, preserving the playback quality.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025
Verb
In fact, if anything, Lete is even more pissed off now after watching the excursion play back on TV.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 26 Mar. 2025
Paal then has no option, under pressure from the American, but to play back even further to Morgan Fox.
—Beren Cross, The Athletic, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for playback
Cite this Entry
“Playback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/playback. Accessed 7 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
playback
1 of 2 noun
play·back
ˈplā-ˌbak 
: the action of reproducing recorded sound or pictures often immediately after recording
play back
2 of 2 verb(ˈ)plā-ˈbak
: to perform a playback of (a disc or tape)
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