callback

or call-back

[ kawl-bak ]

/ ˈkɔlˌbæk /

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noun

an act of calling back.

a summoning of workers back to work after a layoff.

a summoning of an employee back to work after working hours, as for emergency business.

a request to a performer who has auditioned for a role, booking, or the like to return for another audition.

recall (def. 12).

a return telephone call.

an allusion to a joke made earlier in the same comedy act or show:The kitten yelling “Quiet!” at the end was a callback to earlier in the episode when the two normally silent brothers shouted it.

adjective

of or relating to a return telephone call: Please leave a callback number.

verb phrase call back

[kawl-bak] /ˈkɔl ˈbæk/ .

to telephone (a person) who has called earlier:Our staff will call you back within 24 hours.

to summon or bring back; recall: He called back the messenger.The actor was called back for a second audition.

to revoke; retract: to call back an accusation.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of callback

First recorded in 1925–30; noun use of verb phrase call back

How to use callback in a sentence

Think back to the Bush-Kerry race of 2004, the Thrilla in Vanilla.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Back in New York, the slow pace and inward focus of her yoga practice was less fulfilling.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Music is a huge part of the tone of Black Dynamite overall—going back to the original 2009 movie on which the series is based.
‘Black Dynamite’ Presents Police Brutality: The Musical|Stereo Williams|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The al Qaeda-linked gunmen shot back, but only managed to injure one officer before they were taken out.
France Kills Charlie Hebdo Murderers|Nico Hines|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

So, Islamized teaching sends girls back home for marriage and housework, and remains exclusively for boys.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I waited three months more, in great impatience, then sent him back to the same post, to see if there might be a reply.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
Ages back—let musty geologists tell us how long ago—'twas a lake, larger than the Lake of Geneva.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various
The boys were tumbling about, clinging to his legs, imploring that numerous things be brought back to them.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
With a suffocating gasp, she fell back into the chair on which she sat, and covered her face with her hands.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
She was holding the back of her chair with one hand; her loose sleeve had slipped almost to the shoulder of her uplifted arm.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin

Other Idioms and Phrases with callback

call back

Ask someone to return; also, ask that something be returned, as in He passed the first audition and was waiting to be called back, or These screws are defective; the manufacturer has called them back. [Late 1500s]

call someone back. Telephone someone in return, as in May I call you back next week? [Early 1900s]