playback

1 of 2

noun

play·​back ˈplā-ˌbak 

: an act or instance of reproducing recorded sound or pictures often immediately after recording

play back

2 of 2

verb

played back; playing back; plays back

transitive verb

: 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

Noun

The iPhone 18 Pro Max lasted 23 hours and 25 minutes of video playback. — Florence Ion, PC Magazine, 19 Sep. 2026

Apple says the iPhone 18 Pro Max can deliver up to 45 hours of video playback, the longest battery life the company has offered in an iPhone. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 11 Sep. 2026

Verb

Watching the Lilith documentary and hearing about how two women can be played back-to-back on a radio or two women can be on a festival bill. — Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2026

Stukes should play back deep alongside Chinn to start the year. — Sam Warren, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1929, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1949, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for playback

• aback
• attack
• backpack
• backtrack
• bareback
• blackjack
• brownback
• buyback
• callback
• cognac
• comeback
• cutback

Kids 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)