/ˈbæk.ɡɹaʊnd/► audioScrabble 20Words With Friends 25
Definition
verb understate the importance or quality of.
— synonyms: play_down, downplay
noun a person's social heritage: previous experience or training.
noun the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground.
— synonyms: ground
noun information that is essential to understanding a situation or problem.
— synonyms: background_knowledge
noun extraneous signals that can be confused with the phenomenon to be observed or measured.
— synonyms: background_signal
noun relatively unimportant or inconspicuous accompanying situation.
noun the state of the environment in which a situation exists.
— synonyms: setting, scope
noun (computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows appear.
— synonyms: desktop, screen_background
noun scenery hung at back of stage.
— synonyms: backdrop, backcloth
Examples
“The lawyer had a background in computer science.”
“The photographer let us pick a background for the portrait.”
“The antivirus program is running in the background.”