callback

noun

call·​back ˈkȯl-ˌbak 

plural callbacks

1

: a return call

Coming up with a solid reason for one more callback, finding a way to get hold of someone "impossible" to reach, getting the order in before the competition can even quote prices—these are what professional selling is all about …

—Jack Falvey

I know how this works, so I won't hold my breath. Meanwhile, I'm papering my cubical walls with memos to myself reminding me I'm still waiting for a callback from thus-and-such public-information office.

—Denise Civiletti

2

a

: recall sense 5

product callbacks

b

: an instance of requesting or directing someone to return: such as

(1)

: a recall of an employee to work after a layoff

… worked at Fairfield for two years and was involved in the layoff and callback earlier this year.

—Max Showalter

(2)

: a second or additional audition (as for a theatrical part)

… will be weeding through the 50 young actors displaying their talents this afternoon to arrive at a short list of those deemed worthy of an immediate callback interview.

—Richard Conniff

3

: something (such as a comment, image, or character) that evokes an earlier instance

"Most of the characters are going to be new. We do have a few callbacks, a couple of cameos that kind of come up from previous games. …"

—James Lopez

—often used with to

… Emmy-winning 30Rock, which is shot through with inside jokes and tightly woven callbacks to past episodes …

—James Poniewozik

… there are callbacks in the show to the events taking place in the movie.

—Rayan Sayyed

… Connelly and Cruise also share a scene on the back of a motorcycle that is a visual callback to one of the most famous images from the original film …

—Zach Seemayer

[Serena Williams'] beaded hoop earrings were a callback to the beaded braids she wore in her youth.

—Sandra E. Garcia and Antonio de Luca

Examples of callback in a Sentence

She got constant callbacks from the salesman even after she asked him to stop calling.

With the latest callback, the factory will employ 30,000 workers.

If he used better materials, he wouldn't have so many callbacks.

Recent Examples on the Web

The all white outfits were an homage to previous protests against anti-Black violence such as the 1917 NAACP Silent parade, and Saturday’s marchers also wore purple, pink, and white flower crowns as a callback to transgender-rights advocate Marsha P. Johnson. —Solcyré Burga / Washington, TIME, 14 Sep. 2024

Andor has a diverse cast, strong female characters and doesn’t rely on constant callbacks, references and Easter Eggs to work, eschewing almost all such fan-service in favor of a compelling story written and produced by people of talent. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024

Lydia’s Red Wedding Dress Beetlejuice Beetlejuice saves its biggest visual callback for the story’s climax. —Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 7 Sep. 2024

As the humans fight back, Alvarez folds in callbacks to the iconic movies that sandwich his story, tributes that come in the form of recognizable dialogue, an eyebrow-raising supporting character and the incredibly grungy atmosphere created by analog technology that can’t be faked. —Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

callback

noun

call·​back ˈkȯl-ˌbak 

1

: a return call

2

: recall entry 2 sense 5