: 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
Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 29 Apr. 2026
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
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
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Noun
Menu and playback controls can be found in the center of the remote, with a volume rocker and dedicated service buttons for Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix, and YouTube further down.
—Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 29 Apr. 2026
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
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
See All Example Sentences for playback
Cite this Entry
“Playback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/playback. Accessed 5 May. 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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