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Background   /bˈækgrˌaʊnd/   Listen
noun
background  n.  
1.
Ground in the rear or behind, or in the distance, as opposed to the foreground, or the ground in front.
2.
(Paint.) The space which is behind and subordinate to a portrait or group of figures. Note: The distance in a picture is usually divided into foreground, middle distance, and background.
3.
Anything behind, serving as a foil; as, the statue had a background of red hangings.
4.
A place in obscurity or retirement, or out of sight. "I fancy there was a background of grinding and waiting before Miss Torry could produce this highly finished... performance." "A husband somewhere in the background."
5.
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; as, within the background of the massive budget deficits of the 1980's, new spending programs had little chance of passage by the congress.
6.
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); as, against the background of their expulsion by the Serbs, the desire of Kosovars for vengeance is understandable though regrettable.
7.
(Science) 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. Specifically: (Physics) Electronic noise present in a system using electronic measuring instrument or in a telecommunications system, which may hide and which must be differentiated from the desired signal; also called background noise or noise.
8.
(Journalism) 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.
To place in the background, to make of little consequence.
To keep in the background, to remain unobtrusive, inconspicuous or out of sight; of people.
deep background, (Journalism) the status of an interview which must not be quoted in a publication, even without attribution. Compare background (8).





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Background" Quotes from Famous Books



... Had he applied it to the service of the Pendle witches, he would have found still grosser contrarieties, and as great absurdity. But in that case, there was no horror of Popery to sharpen his faculties, or Jesuit in the background to call ...
— Discovery of Witches - The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster • Thomas Potts
... in the best rooms in the house, and all goes as merrily as it can, while the horrors which they have left behind them hang, like a black background, to all their thoughts. However, both Scoutbush and Campbell send as cheerful reports as they honestly can; and gradually the exceeding beauty of the scenery, and the amusing bustle of the village, make them forget, perhaps, a good deal which ...
— Two Years Ago, Volume II. • Charles Kingsley
... spirit. He had fought bulls in Madrid, and the infidel overseas; he had wooed adventure wherever it was to be met, until romance hung about him like an aura. Thus Sophia met him again, a dazzling personality, whose effulgence shone the more brightly against the dull background of that gross Hanoverian court; an accomplished, graceful, self-reliant man of the world, in whom she ...
— The Historical Nights Entertainment, Second Series • Rafael Sabatini
... tell all but the names. I'd best be prudent, for I'm afraid you may get a little fierce you do sometimes when people vex me," began Rose, rather liking the prospect of a confidential chat with Uncle, for he had kept himself a good deal in the background lately. ...
— Rose in Bloom - A Sequel to "Eight Cousins" • Louisa May Alcott
... ends eastwardly, we perceive a dark background lying up against the mountains. We know it is a pine-forest, but we are at too great a distance to distinguish the trees. Out of this forest the stream appears to issue; and upon its banks, near the border of the woods, we perceive a collection of strange pyramidal structures. They are ...
— The Scalp Hunters • Mayne Reid


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