English Explanatory Dictionary

background

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Less important or less noticeable in a scene or system.
noun
  1. One's social heritage, or previous life; what one did in the past.
  2. A part of the picture that depicts scenery to the rear or behind the main subject; context.
  3. An extra who appears in the background, with no speaking role.
  4. Information relevant to the current situation about past events; history.
  5. A less important feature of scenery (as opposed to foreground).
  6. The image or color over which a computer's desktop items are shown (e.g. icons or application windows).
  7. A type of activity on a computer that is not normally visible to the user.
  8. Ellipsis of background radiation.
verb
  1. To place in the background.
  2. To put in a position that is not prominent.
  3. To gather and provide background information (on).
  4. To increase the weight and immunity of (a calf) by feeding with forage and grains, as an intermediate stage in cattle production, between weaning and placement in a feedlot.
verb
  1. simple past and past participle of backgrind

Pronunciation

/ˈbæk(ɡ)ɹaʊnd/ /ˈba(k)ɡɾɑwɳɖ/ en-us-background.ogg

Word forms

background back ground backgrounds backgrounding backgrounded

Etymology

From back + ground. Compare backstory.

Synonyms

canvas downplay

Antonyms

conspicuous foreground forestanding primary prominent

Derived words

background check backgrounder background fodder background investigation background music background noise background process background processing background radiation background radiation equivalent time background right backgroundy cosmic background cosmic background radiation cosmic gravitational wave background cosmic gravitational-wave background cosmic infrared background cosmic microwave background cosmic neutrino background deep background extragalactic background light gravitational wave background gravitational-wave background headground low-background low-background lead low-background steel multibackground on background superbackground

Translations

Arabic: خلفية Armenian: խորք Esperanto: fono Finnish: taustaväri Finnish: tausta Finnish: taustakuva French: fond d'écran German: Schreibtischhintergrund German: Hintergrundbild Hungarian: háttér Icelandic: bakgrunnur Italian: sfondo Japanese: バックグラウンド Korean: 바탕색 Korean: 백그라운드 Malay: latar belakang Marathi: बॅकग्राउंड Persian: پسزمینه Polish: tapeta Portuguese: plano de fundo Portuguese: fundo Russian: фон Russian: бэкгра́унд Scottish Gaelic: cùlaibh Spanish: fondo Spanish: fondo de pantalla Swedish: bakgrundsbild Swedish: skrivbordsbakgrund Turkish: arka plan Vietnamese: hình nền
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