background

back·ground  (bkground)

n.

1. The ground or scenery located behind something.

2.

a. The part of a pictorial representation that appears to be in the distance and that provides relief for the principal objects in the foreground.

b. The general scene or surface against which designs, patterns, or figures are represented or viewed.

3. A position or area of relative inconspicuousness or unimportance.

4. The circumstances and events surrounding or leading up to an event or occurrence.

5. A person's experience, training, and education: Her background in the arts is impressive.

6. Subdued music played especially as an accompaniment to dialogue in a dramatic performance.

7.

a. Sound that intrudes on or interferes with an audio recording.

b. Low-level radiation, as from radioactive decay, that exists as part of the natural environment.

Idioms:

on background

For publication but without specific attribution of the source: The Senator would only speak on background with the reporter about the crisis.

on deep background

For publication without any attribution of the source.

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background v.

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background

Noun

1. the events or circumstances that help to explain something

2. a person's social class, education, or experience

3. the part of a scene furthest from the viewer

4. an inconspicuous position: in the background

5. the space behind the chief figures or objects in a picture

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	background - a person's social heritage: previous experience or training; "he is a lawyer with a sports background" heritage, inheritance - any attribute or immaterial possession that is inherited from ancestors; "my only inheritance was my mother's blessing"; "the world's heritage of knowledge"
	2.	background - the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground; "he posed her against a background of rolling hills" ground panorama, vista, view, aspect, scene, prospect - the visual percept of a region; "the most desirable feature of the park are the beautiful views"
	3.	background - information that is essential to understanding a situation or problem; "the embassy filled him in on the background of the incident" background knowledge information - knowledge acquired through study or experience or instruction
	4.	background - 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" background signal interference, noise, disturbance - electrical or acoustic activity that can disturb communication background noise, ground noise - extraneous noise contaminating sound measurements that cannot be separated from the desired signal background radiation - radiation coming from sources other than those being observed
	5.	background - relatively unimportant or inconspicuous accompanying situation; "when the rain came he could hear the sound of thunder in the background" accompaniment, co-occurrence, concomitant, attendant - an event or situation that happens at the same time as or in connection with another
	6.	background - the state of the environment in which a situation exists; "you can't do that in a university setting" scope, setting environment - the totality of surrounding conditions; "he longed for the comfortable environment of his living room" canvass, canvas - the setting for a narrative or fictional or dramatic account; "the crowded canvas of history"; "the movie demanded a dramatic canvas of sound" show window, showcase - a setting in which something can be displayed to best effect; "it was a showcase for democracy in Africa"
	7.	background - (computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows appear screen background, desktop CRT screen, screen - the display that is electronically created on the surface of the large end of a cathode-ray tube computer science, computing - the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures
	8.	background - scenery hung at back of stage         backcloth, backdrop scenery, scene - the painted structures of a stage set that are intended to suggest a particular locale; "they worked all night painting the scenery"
Verb	1.	background - understate the importance or quality of; "he played down his royal ancestry" play down, downplay wave off - dismiss as insignificant; "He waved off suggestions of impropriety" soft-pedal - play down or obscure; "His advisers soft-pedaled the president's blunder" accent, accentuate, emphasize, stress, punctuate, emphasise - to stress, single out as important; "Dr. Jones emphasizes exercise in addition to a change in diet" foreground, highlight, play up, spotlight - move into the foreground to make more visible or prominent; "The introduction highlighted the speaker's distinguished career in linguistics"

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background

noun 1. upbringing, history, culture, environment, tradition, circumstances, breeding, milieu

noun 2. experience, grounding, education, preparation, qualifications, credentials

noun 3. circumstances, history, conditions, situation, atmosphere, environment, framework, ambience, milieu, frame of reference

Translations

background [ˈbækgraund] n → fondo; [of events] → antecedentes mpl (= basic knowledge); bases fpl (= experience); conocimientos mpl; educación f

cpd (noise, music) → de fondo;

(COMPUT) → secundario;

background reading → lectura de preparación;

family background → origen m; antecedentes mpl familiares

background [ˈbækgraund] back n → arrière-plan m [of events]; situation f, conjoncture f (= basic knowledge); éléments mpl de base (= experience); formation f

cpd [noise, music] → de fond;

background reading → lecture(s) générale(s) (sur un sujet);

family background → milieu familial

background [ˈbækgraund] n → Hintergrund m;

(basic knowledge) → Grundkenntnisse pl;

(experience) → Erfahrung f

cpd (music) → Hintergrund-;

family background → Herkunft f;

background noise → Geräuschkulisse f;

background reading → vertiefende Lektüre f

background [ˈbækgraund] n → sfondo; [of events], (COMPUT) → background m inv (= basic knowledge); base f (= experience); esperienza

cpd [noise, music] → di fondo;

background reading → letture fpl sull'argomento;

family background → ambiente m familiare