background

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word background. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word background, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say background in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word background you have here. The definition of the word background will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofbackground, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbæk.ɡɹaʊnd/, /ˈbækɹaʊnd/
  • Audio (GA)(file)

Etymology 1

back +‎ ground

Alternative forms

Adjective

background (not comparable)

  1. Less important or less noticeable in a scene or system.
    background noise
    The antivirus program runs on a background thread.
Antonyms

Noun

background (countable and uncountable, plural backgrounds)

  1. One's social heritage, or previous life; what one did in the past.
    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 May-June, William E. Conner, “An Acoustic Arms Race”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, pages 206–7:
      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. (film) 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).
    There was tons of noise in the background.
    The photographer let us pick a background for the portrait.
  6. (computing) The image or color over which a computer's desktop items are shown (e.g. icons or application windows).
  7. (computing) A type of activity on a computer that is not normally visible to the user.
    The antivirus program is running in the background.
  8. (physics) Clipping of background radiation.
Derived terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb

background (third-person singular simple present backgrounds, present participle backgrounding, simple past and past participle backgrounded)

  1. (transitive) To put in a position that is not prominent.
    Synonym: downplay
    • 2006, Paul Baker, Using Corpora in Discourse Analysis, page 163:
      One aspect of the story that appears interesting is that the alleged rapist and victim are only referred to by name together in the same sentence once. In all the other sentences, one receives more focus, while the other is backgrounded.
  2. (journalism) To gather and provide background information (on).
  3. (transitive) 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.

Etymology 2

Verb

background

  1. simple past and past participle of backgrind

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English background.

Pronunciation

Noun

background m (invariable)

  1. cultural background (of a person)
    • 1995, Domenico Starnone et al., La scuola:
      Vivaldi: Insomma, noi dobbiamo partire dal background di questo ragazzo.
      Mortillaro: Background, ah, come lo odio l'inglese.
      In short, we have to start from the background of this boy.
      Background, ah, how I hate English.

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English background.

Noun

background n (plural backgrounduri)

  1. background
    Synonyms: fundal, fond

Declension

Declension of background
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) background backgroundul (niște) backgrounduri backgroundurile
genitive/dative (unui) background backgroundului (unor) backgrounduri backgroundurilor
vocative backgroundule backgroundurilor

Spanish

Noun

background m (plural backgrounds)

  1. background
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia