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

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

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Origin of callback

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

Words nearby callback

callant, Callao, Callas, call a spade a spade, callathump, callback, call-board, call box, callboy, call center, call centre

How to use callback in a sentence

Reitman’s promise to return this franchise “back” to fans validated the notion that Feig’s film—which included numerous callbacks to and cameos that tethered it to the original—was made for someone else.
The Sexist Trolling That Led to a New, Underwhelming ‘Ghostbusters’|Laura Bradley|November 19, 2021|The Daily Beast
The book builds heavily on Psychopomp and Soft Sounds’ themes of loss, and it’s sprinkled with discreet callbacks to Zauner’s own songs.
Japanese Breakfast isn’t the artist she used to be|Alexa Lee|June 4, 2021|Vox
They called me the next year, and they were like, you can just go straight to callbacks.
Redd-y for His Close-up: Comic Chris Redd on Spotlight Life|Isabelle Lee|May 26, 2021|Ozy
A couple of them having callbacks and one of the final calls with Triple H in there, who is, he’s an incredibly huge WWE superstar for years, for 25 years and head of NXT.
The Very Ms. C.J. Perry!|Eugene Robinson|May 25, 2021|Ozy

In these moments, the book feels like a callback to writers like Henry David Thoreau, who idealized nature while being unwilling to think critically about the “unnatural”—politics, capitalism, other people.
What Gretel Ehrlich Gets Wrong About Climate Change|Erin Berger|February 8, 2021|Outside Online
Having a criminal record can reduce the likelihood of getting a callback or job offer by 50 percent.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside|Justin Rohrlich|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The callback sketch that got the night's biggest response though was the return of the Kissing Family.
Andy Samberg's ‘SNL’ Finale Was Wonderfully Weird|Kevin Fallon|May 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Zamata was one of at least three women to get a callback later in the month.
Finally! ‘Saturday Night Live’ Hires Sasheer Zamata, First Black Female Cast Member in 5 Years|Kevin Fallon|January 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Megan lands a callback for a role in a play in Boston, which leads to yet another row between the two.
‘Mad Men’ Returns: A Recap of Season Five|Jace Lacob|April 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In the callback audition I tried getting her to throw this water bottle at our casting director, and she said, ‘I won’t do that.
‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’: One of the Year’s Best Films|Marlow Stern|June 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST

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]