: 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
Gabriela Vatu, PCMAG, 23 Oct. 2024
YouTube is getting a bunch of small but handy new features, like the ability to more finely tune your playback speed, new tools to collaborate on playlists, a sleep timer, and more.
—Jay Peters, The Verge, 15 Oct. 2024
Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 17 Aug. 2024
Musicians, podcasters, and other audio content creators may want to turn up the volume when playing back Qualcomm’s stream of the keynote: Microsoft will soon ship a series of driver and software updates that should ease connecting instruments to PCs.
—Rob Pegoraro, PCMAG, 22 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for playback 
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Noun
Additionally, depth and water temperature sensors, audio playback capabilities, and voice isolation for clearer calls have all been upgraded.
—Gabriela Vatu, PCMAG, 23 Oct. 2024
YouTube is getting a bunch of small but handy new features, like the ability to more finely tune your playback speed, new tools to collaborate on playlists, a sleep timer, and more.
—Jay Peters, The Verge, 15 Oct. 2024
Verb
Having looked up the pitch and seen no obvious pass, the Switzerland international decides that playing back to Nick Pope is a better option.
—Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 17 Aug. 2024
Musicians, podcasters, and other audio content creators may want to turn up the volume when playing back Qualcomm’s stream of the keynote: Microsoft will soon ship a series of driver and software updates that should ease connecting instruments to PCs.
—Rob Pegoraro, PCMAG, 22 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for playback
Dictionary Entries Near playback
Cite this Entry
“Playback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/playback. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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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