background

Definitions

1. 1noun

   Ground in the rear or behind, or in the distance, as opposed to the foreground, or the ground in front.

2. 2noun

   The space which is behind and subordinate to a portrait or group of figures.

3. 3noun

   Anything behind, serving as a foil; as, the statue had a background of red hangings.

4. 4noun

   A place in obscurity or retirement, or out of sight.

5. 5noun

   scenery hung at back of stage

   Synonyms

   backclothbackdrop
6. 6noun

   (computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows appear

   Synonyms

   desktop
7. 7noun

   a person's social heritage: previous experience or training

   "he is a lawyer with a sports background"

8. 8noun

   information that is essential to understanding a situation or problem

   "the embassy filled him in on the background of the incident"

9. 9noun

   the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground

   "he posed her against a background of rolling hills"

   Synonyms

   ground
10. 10noun

    relatively unimportant or inconspicuous accompanying situation

    "when the rain came he could hear the sound of thunder in the background"

11. 11noun

    extraneous signals that can be confused with the phenomenon to be observed or measured

    "they got a bad connection and could hardly hear one another over the background signals"

12. 12noun

    the state of the environment in which a situation exists

    "you can't do that in a university setting"

    Synonyms

    scopesetting
13. 13verb

    understate the importance or quality of

    "he played down his royal ancestry"

    Synonyms

    downplay