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 unconscious brain was learning to tell the tones apart, continuously reorganizing its neural responses to better detect the anomaly over the course of the 10-minute playback. —Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 6 May 2026

Jurors reached for piles of tissues and audibly sniffled in the silence that fell between the audio playback, local outlets reported. —USA Today, 6 May 2026

Verb

Down to shortstops, the Mets have Bichette and Brett Baty playing back at their natural positions. —Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 3 May 2026

Death had an important role to play back when life was single-celled and simple, Halioua told me. —Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 2 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1929, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1949, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for playback

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

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)