Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. The ground or scenery located behind something.
- n. The part of a pictorial representation that appears to be in the distance and that provides relief for the principal objects in the foreground.
- n. The general scene or surface against which designs, patterns, or figures are represented or viewed.
- n. A position or area of relative inconspicuousness or unimportance.
- n. The circumstances and events surrounding or leading up to an event or occurrence.
- n. A person's experience, training, and education: Her background in the arts is impressive.
- n. Subdued music played especially as an accompaniment to dialogue in a dramatic performance.
- n. Sound that intrudes on or interferes with an audio recording.
- n. Low-level radiation, as from radioactive decay, that exists as part of the natural environment.
- idiom on background For publication but without specific attribution of the source: The Senator would only speak on background with the reporter about the crisis.
- idiom on deep background For publication without any attribution of the source.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. One's social heritage; what one did in the past/previously.
- n. A part of the picture that depicts scenery to the rear or behind the main subject; context.
- n. Information relevant to the current situation about past events; history.
- n. A less important feature of scenery (as opposed to foreground.)
- n. The image or color, over which a computer's desktop items are show (e.g. icons or application windows).
- n. Activity on a computer that is not normally visible to the user
- v. To put in a position that is not prominent
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. Ground in the rear or behind, or in the distance, as opposed to the
foreground , or the ground in front. - n. The space which is behind and subordinate to a portrait or group of figures.
- n. Anything behind, serving as a foil.
- n. A place in obscurity or retirement, or out of sight.
- n. The set of conditions within which an action takes place, including the social and physical conditions as well as the psychological states of the participants.
- n. The set of conditions that precede and affect an action, such as the social and historical precedents for the event, as well as the general background{5}.
- n. The signals that may be detected by a measurement which are not due to the phenomenon being studied, and tend to make the measurement uncertain to a greater or lesser degree.
- n. An agreement between a journalist and an interviewee that the name of the interviewee will not be quoted in any publication, although the substance of the remarks may be reported; -- often used in the phrase “on background”. Compare deep background.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The ground at the back or behind, as opposed to the front; situation in the rear of those objects, considerations, etc., which engage the attention; subordinate or secondary position in contradistinction to principal or important position; place out of sight: used both literally (of physical objects) and figuratively: as, there were mountains in the background; the true reasons for this action were kept in the background.
- n. Specifically The part of a picture represented as furthest from the spectator's eye: opposed to foreground.
- n. In photography, the plain or decorated screens, properties, etc., placed behind the subject in taking portraits, especially in regular gallery-work, in order to form an appropriate setting in the finished picture.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. the state of the environment in which a situation exists
- n. relatively unimportant or inconspicuous accompanying situation
- n. extraneous signals that can be confused with the phenomenon to be observed or measured
- v. understate the importance or quality of
- n. information that is essential to understanding a situation or problem
- n. the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground
- n. a person's social heritage: previous experience or training
- n. scenery hung at back of stage
- n. (computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows appear
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Examples
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I have no idea why the title background is gray at the beginning, but at least I figured out how to upload so the quality isn't total blur city.
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From the word background onward, I thought I was finished—with Fare anyhow, whatever long-term hopes I might have had about her.
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Oaxaca's zócalo, with facade of presidential palace in background, is a pleasant place to spend the afternoon.
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The label background is transparent regardless if themes are enabled and for some reason that screws it.
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We all do .... whatever your background is and whatever your circumstances are, what you can offer to those in need is hope.
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But, whatever your background is and whatever your circumstances are, what you can offer to those in need is hope.
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Any fishing trip with the Trenton Makes Bridge in the background is my kind of story!
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For those who have noticed, in the background is a glimpse of the Cuban restaurant, Havana Central, which I mentioned once before when Sra came to visit.
New York Monday: Broadway Malls : The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz
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In the background is the Channel of Constantinople.
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This background is a cityscape full of building and cars.
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