What does Background mean?

Definitions for Background
ˈbækˌgraʊndback·ground

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Background.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. backgroundnoun

    a person's social heritage: previous experience or training

    "he is a lawyer with a sports background"

  2. background, groundnoun

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

    "he posed her against a background of rolling hills"

  3. background, background knowledgenoun

    information that is essential to understanding a situation or problem

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

  4. background, background signalnoun

    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"

  5. backgroundnoun

    relatively unimportant or inconspicuous accompanying situation

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

  6. setting, background, scopenoun

    the state of the environment in which a situation exists

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

  7. background, desktop, screen backgroundnoun

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

  8. backdrop, background, backclothverb

    scenery hung at back of stage

  9. background, play down, downplayverb

    understate the importance or quality of

    "he played down his royal ancestry"

Wiktionary

  1. backgroundnoun

    One's social heritage; what one did in the past/previously.

    The lawyer had a background in computer science.

  2. backgroundnoun

    A part of the picture that depicts scenery to the rear or behind the main subject; context.

  3. backgroundnoun

    Information relevant to the current situation about past events; history.

  4. backgroundnoun

    A less important feature of scenery (as opposed to foreground.)

  5. backgroundnoun

    The image or color, over which a computer's desktop items are show (e.g. icons or application windows).

  6. backgroundnoun

    Activity on a computer that is not normally visible to the user

    The antivirus program is running in the background.

  7. backgroundverb

    To put in a position that is not prominent

ChatGPT

  1. background

    Background refers to the conditions or circumstances that form the setting or environment for an event, person, or situation. It can also refer to the part of an image or scene behind the main objects or people in view. In other contexts, background can describe a person's previous experiences, education, or training.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Backgroundnoun

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

  2. Backgroundnoun

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

  3. Backgroundnoun

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

  4. Backgroundnoun

    a place in obscurity or retirement, or out of sight

The New Hacker's Dictionary

  1. background

    [common] To do a task in background is to do it whenever foreground matters are not claiming your undivided attention, and to background something means to relegate it to a lower priority. “For now, we'll just print a list of nodes and links; I'm working on the graph-printing problem in background.” Note that this implies ongoing activity but at a reduced level or in spare time, in contrast to mainstream ‘back burner’ (which connotes benign neglect until some future resumption of activity). Some people prefer to use the term for processing that they have queued up for their unconscious minds (a tack that one can often fruitfully take upon encountering an obstacle in creative work). Compare amp off, slopsucker.Technically, a task running in background is detached from the terminal where it was started (and often running at a lower priority); oppose foreground. Nowadays this term is primarily associated with Unix, but it appears to have been first used in this sense on OS/360.

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Background' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1709

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Background' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1685

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Background' in Nouns Frequency: #678

How to pronounce Background?

How to say Background in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Background in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Background in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of Background in a Sentence

  1. Anita McBride:

    For Laura Bush, education, for Mrs. Obama, it started out with concern about her own children. So it's something that they care about ... from that, you utilize the convening authority that you have as first lady to pull the best experts together. Having the platform of the White House brings attention to the issue. Once you use your own background and interest as a platform to build your initiatives, then you can roll out the things you feel most passionately about.

  2. Katherine Ramsland:

    My initial impression of Dennis Rader was that Dennis Rader wanted to challenge me, and what surprised me was the fact that there was n’t anything in Dennis Rader background that would correspond with the typical formula we have of serial killers. I recently heard a detective say that all serial killers have trauma in their background. He was wrong about that.

  3. David Wohl:

    They will also have to do a background check that could include information as to what the people did before they immigrated to the U.S., were they a member of a radical mosque, etc. ? That could take weeks and even months to evaluate. The skepticism among officials, locals and the media is growing given that weapons, a stockpile of bomb-making materials and thousands of rounds of ammunition were discovered in the couple’s home. Also under sharp and evolving scrutiny is that almost $ 28,500 deposited into Farook’s bank account weeks before the lethal rampage – and at least three $ 5,000 transfers to Rafia Farook in the days leading up to the attack, in what a source described to Fox News as a key indicator of.

  4. Brian Laundrie:

    Brian claims he wants to sit in the background while we search for Gabby in the wilderness of the Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks, brian left Gabby in the wilderness with grizzly bears and wolves while he sits in the comfort of his home. In his home!

  5. Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood:

    When you look at this kid's background, he is the profile of a shooter, he lost his job, he lost his girlfriend, he's depressed, he's got the ammunition and he wants to become known for being the most prolific killer in American history.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

Background#1#1583#10000

Translations for Background

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • خلفيةArabic
  • заден план, фонBulgarian
  • fons, antecedents, bagatgeCatalan, Valencian
  • pozadíCzech
  • baggrundDanish
  • Schreibtischhintergrund, HintergrundGerman
  • segundo plano, fondo, antecedente, formaciónSpanish
  • پس‌زمینه, پس زمینهPersian
  • tausta, taustakuva, taustatieto, historia, taustaväriFinnish
  • historique, arrière-plan, tâche de fond, en arrière-plan, fond, fond d'écran, passé, milieu, antécédents, histoireFrench
  • cúlraIrish
  • cùl-fhiosrachadhScottish Gaelic
  • רקעHebrew
  • háttérHungarian
  • խորք, նախագիտելիքArmenian
  • antefatto, secondo piano, storia, bagaglio culturale, istruzione, sfondo, sottofondo, retaggio, legato, formazione, in sordinaItalian
  • 背景, バックグラウンドJapanese
  • 예비지식, 배경, 백그라운드, 바탕색Korean
  • backgroundLatin
  • drugi plan, doświadczenie, tapeta, kontekst, dalszy plan, tłoPolish
  • instrução, experiência, histórico, segundo plano, antecedente, plano de fundo, formação, fundoPortuguese
  • образование, предпосылка, происхождение, задний план, подготовка, подоплёка, предыстория, контекст, бэкграунд, фон, фоновый режимRussian
  • pretpovijest, kontekstSerbo-Croatian
  • skrivbordsbakgrund, bakgrund, bakgrundsbildSwedish
  • geçmişTurkish
  • фонUkrainian
  • پس منظر کےUrdu
  • cơ sở, bối cảnh, hình nền, nềnVietnamese
  • erî-planWalloon

Get even more translations for Background »

Translation

Find a translation for the Background definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Background." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Background>.

Discuss these Background definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for Background? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    expressing yourself easily or characterized by clear expressive language
    A articulate
    B indiscernible
    C ambidextrous
    D ravening

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for Background: