Background

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbæk.gɹaÊŠnd/

Full definition of background

Noun

1. One's social heritage; what one did in the past/previously.
   The lawyer had a background in computer science.
2. A part of the picture that depicts scenery to the rear or behind the main subject; context.
• 2013, William E. Conner, An Acoustic Arms Race, Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close...above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them. Many insects probably use this strategy, which is a close analogy to crypsis in the visible world—camouflage and other methods for blending into one’s visual background.
3. Information relevant to the current situation about past events; history.
4. A less important feature of scenery (as opposed to foreground).
   There was tons of noise in the background.
   The photographer let us pick a background for the portrait.
5. (computing) The image or color, over which a computer's desktop items are shown (e.g. icons or application windows).
6. (computing) Activity on a computer that is not normally visible to the user.
   The antivirus program is running in the background.

Derived terms

• on background
• background fodder

Verb

1. To put in a position that is not prominent