background

Noun
  1. A person's social heritage: previous experience or training (synset 104928594)
    "he is a lawyer with a sports background"
    is a type of: heritage, inheritance - any attribute or immaterial possession that is inherited from ancestors
  2. The part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground (synset 105942570)
    "he posed her against a background of rolling hills"
    is a type of: aspect, panorama, prospect, scene, view, vista - the visual percept of a region
    same as: ground
  3. Information that is essential to understanding a situation or problem (synset 105831841)
    "the embassy filled him in on the background of the incident"
    is a type of: information - knowledge acquired through study or experience or instruction
    same as: background knowledge
  4. Extraneous signals that can be confused with the phenomenon to be observed or measured (synset 107445080)
    "they got a bad connection and could hardly hear one another over the background signals"
    is a type of: disturbance, interference, noise - electrical or acoustic activity that can disturb communication
    subtypes:
    same as: background signal
  5. Relatively unimportant or inconspicuous accompanying situation (synset 107299896)
    "when the rain came he could hear the sound of thunder in the background"
    is a type of: accompaniment, attendant, co-occurrence, concomitant - an event or situation that happens at the same time as or in connection with another
  6. The state of the environment in which a situation exists (synset 114536861)
    "you can't do that in a university setting"
    is a type of: environment - the totality of surrounding conditions
    subtypes:
    • canvas, canvass - the setting for a narrative or fictional or dramatic account
    • show window, showcase - a setting in which something can be displayed to best effect
    same as: scope, setting
  7. (computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows appear (synset 102772080)
    referred to in: computer science, computing - the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures
    is a type of: crt screen, screen - the display that is electronically created on the surface of the large end of a cathode-ray tube
    same as: desktop, screen background
  8. Scenery hung at back of stage (synset 102771869)
    is a type of: scene, scenery - the painted structures of a stage set that are intended to suggest a particular locale
    same as: backcloth, backdrop
Verb
  1. Understate the importance or quality of (synset 200514573)
    "he played down his royal ancestry"
    is a type of: accent, accentuate, emphasise, emphasize, punctuate, stress - to stress, single out as important
    subtypes:
    same as: downplay, play down

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