: 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
Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 18 Apr. 2026 Some of Athena’s family members left the courtroom during the playback. —Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 17 Apr. 2026
Martha Ross, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2026 Tatis played back-to-back games at second base over the weekend — first so Cronenworth could slide over the play shortstop for a day off for Bogaerts and then so Cronenworth could have his first day off of the season. —Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for playback
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
In the 2013-14 TV season, two dozen network and cable shows, ranging from The Walking Dead to Downton Abbey, averaged 12 million or more viewers; the top two (The Big Bang Theory and NCIS) had more than 22 million each and even outdrew primetime NFL games after a week of DVR playback. —Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 18 Apr. 2026 Some of Athena’s family members left the courtroom during the playback. —Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 17 Apr. 2026
Verb
Gross’ team, aware that Driver didn’t like to listen to recordings of himself, encouraged him to remove his headphones while any clips were played back. —Martha Ross, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2026 Tatis played back-to-back games at second base over the weekend — first so Cronenworth could slide over the play shortstop for a day off for Bogaerts and then so Cronenworth could have his first day off of the season. —Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for playback
Cite this Entry
“Playback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/playback. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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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