playback
Americannoun
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the act of reproducing a sound or video recording, especially in order to check a recording that is newly made.
-
(in a recording device) the apparatus used in producing playbacks.
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the recording so played, especially the first time it is heard or viewed after being recorded.
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the response to a suggestion, act, product, venture, etc.; feedback.
The playback on the speech has been very favorable.
noun
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the act or process of reproducing a recording, esp on magnetic tape
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the part of a tape recorder serving to reproduce or used for reproducing recorded material
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(modifier) of or relating to the reproduction of signals from a recording
the playback head of a tape recorder
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of playback
First recorded in 1925–30; noun use of verb phrase play back
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Of particular concern are those like endless scroll, highly personalised feeds and the automatic playback of videos.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
No one is identified by anything but first names, including Russell’s mother, Karen, who is the only one who can’t bear to hear the playback.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
Ping times to Europe and Australia often exceeded 300 to 500 milliseconds, which could lead to buffering or lag during high-bandwidth playback.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026
“Was just reading today that newborns will suck on a pacifier more vigorously if it triggers playback of a recording of her/his mother’s voice than another woman’s voice,” Tramo wrote to Epstein.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2026
Ever since the Kerkopes dwarf twins had short-circuited the walls, the real-time video feed from Camp Half-Blood often fuzzed out, changing into playback of extreme dwarf close-ups - red whiskers, nostrils and bad dental work.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
And BTS, unlike Swift’s playbacks of recorded performances, will stream several “Arirang” concerts live, with two shows held in Japan and South Korea being played in theaters worldwide.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
That day in Beijing, Knierim and Frazier were told the worst that could happen is their music would be muted in playbacks of their performance broadcast on NBC’s streaming platform, Peacock.
From Slate ● Nov. 30, 2024
When he started following the sport in 2005, the only way of viewing it in Nigeria was by watching playbacks of races on terrestrial TV.
From BBC ● May 29, 2024
For the new show, these playbacks are accompanied by visual interpretations that read as half lyric video, half animated wallpaper.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2020
The tinfoil tears easily, and even when the stylus is properly adjusted, the reproduction is distorted and squeaky, and good for only a few playbacks.
From Development of the Phonograph at Alexander Graham Bell's Volta Laboratory Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, United States National Museum Bulletin 218, Paper 5, (pages 69-79) by Newville, Leslie J.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
