playback

[ pley-bak ]

noun

1. the act of reproducing a sound or video recording, especially in order to check a recording that is newly made.
2. (in a recording device) the apparatus used in producing playbacks.
3. the recording so played, especially the first time it is heard or viewed after being recorded.
4. the response to a suggestion, act, product, venture, etc.; feedback:

   The playback on the speech has been very favorable.

playback

/ ˈpleɪˌbæk /

noun

1. the act or process of reproducing a recording, esp on magnetic tape
2. the part of a tape recorder serving to reproduce or used for reproducing recorded material
3. modifier of or relating to the reproduction of signals from a recording

   the playback head of a tape recorder

verb

1. to reproduce (recorded material) on (a magnetic tape) by means of a tape recorder

Word History and Origins

Origin of playback¹

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

Example Sentences

Sell’s journey has become the source material for his popular “Turning Pro at 30” YouTube series, which features match playback, post-match analysis and behind-the-scenes footage.

From Los Angeles Times

So on set for “All the Words but the One,” I actually didn’t watch a lot of playback.

From Los Angeles Times

“To see someone flourish like Taylor has, it gives hope to the rest of us,” one young fan told me at a playback for Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, in April.

From BBC

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

When playback and streaming on Paramount+ is added in over 35 days, the show is watched by more than 19 million people.

From Los Angeles Times