: 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
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 May 2024
The easy-to-use on-ear controls allow seamless playback and call management.
—Shubham Yewale, PCMAG, 6 May 2024
The unit boasts 1080p HD video that gives you access to 18-hour playback with event tags.
—Cheryl Fenton, Parents, 4 May 2024
Press it with two fingers during playback to start overdubbing.
—Pete Cottell, WIRED, 2 May 2024
Her voice breaks through to request the producer do a playback or to ask the director for the pronunciation of a word.
—Jessica Cruel, Allure, 2 May 2024
Reich noted that the carousel works, too — with a 17 percent improvement in playback rate.
—Alex Cranz, The Verge, 24 Apr. 2024
To listen to the playback dial (877) 660-6853 within the US and Canada or (201) 612-7415 from other international locations.
—Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2024
Your real-world results will depend on your typical playback volume and codec choice.
—Mark Knapp, PCMAG, 11 Apr. 2024
EW.com, 6 Nov. 2023
Audiophiles can play back hi-res WAV and FLAC music files.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 20 Mar. 2024
Apple also added accessibility enhancements, such as letting the program announce the playhead position when recording, playing back, and scrubbing audio.
—PCMAG, 22 Mar. 2024
The two went back and forth on their differing opinions regarding the details of their final date, to the point producers had to play back parts of the footage.
—Brande Victorian, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024
In Rahman’s testing, an 8-bit 4K 60fps video played back at under 10fps with the current software AV1 decoder, but that shot up to over 50fps when switching to libdav1d.
—Paul Monckton, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
Coaching provides the space to have open conversations with an objective coach, think out loud, play back situations and clarify challenges.
—Carol Sabia, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
The excerpt takes a long look at the services that are popping up as part of the new digital afterlife industry: Some companies offer to send out messages on your behalf after your demise, others enable you to record stories that others can later play back by asking questions.
—IEEE Spectrum, 27 Dec. 2023
They would be played back to back with no spectators and limited media.
—Gerald Marzorati, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2024
Noun
The earnings conference call will be recorded and available for playback one hour after the end of the call.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 May 2024
The easy-to-use on-ear controls allow seamless playback and call management.
—Shubham Yewale, PCMAG, 6 May 2024
The unit boasts 1080p HD video that gives you access to 18-hour playback with event tags.
—Cheryl Fenton, Parents, 4 May 2024
Press it with two fingers during playback to start overdubbing.
—Pete Cottell, WIRED, 2 May 2024
Her voice breaks through to request the producer do a playback or to ask the director for the pronunciation of a word.
—Jessica Cruel, Allure, 2 May 2024
Reich noted that the carousel works, too — with a 17 percent improvement in playback rate.
—Alex Cranz, The Verge, 24 Apr. 2024
To listen to the playback dial (877) 660-6853 within the US and Canada or (201) 612-7415 from other international locations.
—Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2024
Your real-world results will depend on your typical playback volume and codec choice.
—Mark Knapp, PCMAG, 11 Apr. 2024
Verb
But both of them started playing back to the crowd, swatting the crowd away and antagonizing them.
—EW.com, 6 Nov. 2023
Audiophiles can play back hi-res WAV and FLAC music files.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 20 Mar. 2024
Apple also added accessibility enhancements, such as letting the program announce the playhead position when recording, playing back, and scrubbing audio.
—PCMAG, 22 Mar. 2024
The two went back and forth on their differing opinions regarding the details of their final date, to the point producers had to play back parts of the footage.
—Brande Victorian, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024
In Rahman’s testing, an 8-bit 4K 60fps video played back at under 10fps with the current software AV1 decoder, but that shot up to over 50fps when switching to libdav1d.
—Paul Monckton, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
Coaching provides the space to have open conversations with an objective coach, think out loud, play back situations and clarify challenges.
—Carol Sabia, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
The excerpt takes a long look at the services that are popping up as part of the new digital afterlife industry: Some companies offer to send out messages on your behalf after your demise, others enable you to record stories that others can later play back by asking questions.
—IEEE Spectrum, 27 Dec. 2023
They would be played back to back with no spectators and limited media.
—Gerald Marzorati, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'playback.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near playback
Cite this Entry
“Playback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/playback. Accessed 16 May. 2024.
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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