Call back or callback?
call back is a noun meaning “Alternative form of callback”; callback is a noun meaning “The return of a situation to a previous position or state; a reference to such…”. call back is written as two words and callback as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between call back and callback?
| call back | callback | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun |
| Meaning | To request someone's return; to bring back or restore; to recall To telephone someone again at a more convenient time | The return of a situation to a previous position or state; a reference to such a position or state A return telephone or radio call; especially one made automatically to authenticate a logon to a computer network |
| Example | none recorded | none recorded |
| Forms | none | callbacks |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | not recorded |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | about once in every 2 million words |
Sources: call back and callback in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of call back and callback
call back
- 1
Alternative form of callback
- 2
To request someone's return; to bring back or restore; to recall
- 3
To telephone someone again at a more convenient time
- 4
To return to a shop or residence one has previously visited
callback
- 1
The return of a situation to a previous position or state; a reference to such a position or state
- 2
A return telephone or radio call; especially one made automatically to authenticate a logon to a computer network
- 3
A product recall because of a defect or safety concern
- 4
A function pointer passed as an argument to another function
- 5
A follow-up audition in casting
- 6
A follow-up interview in employment recruiting
- 7
A joke which references an earlier joke in the same routine
- 8
A form of audience participation in which the audience shout lines in response to the dialog of a film
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, call back or callback?
call back is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; callback about once in every 2 million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search call back vs callback?
“call back vs callback” is searched about 40 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“callback vs call back”, “call back or callback”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.