background

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: back=ground

CIDE DICTIONARY

background, n. [Back, a. + ground.].

•  Ground in the rear or behind, or in the distance, as opposed to the foreground, or the ground in front.  [1913 Webster]
•  The space which is behind and subordinate to a portrait or group of figures.  [1913 Webster]

  " The distance in a picture is usually divided into foreground, middle distance, and background."  Fairholt.  [1913 Webster]
•  Anything behind, serving as a foil; as, the statue had a background of red hangings.  [1913 Webster]
•  A place in obscurity or retirement, or out of sight.  [1913 Webster]

  "I fancy there was a background of grinding and waiting before Miss Torry could produce this highly finished . . . performance."  [1913 Webster]

  "A husband somewhere in the background."  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [PJC]
•  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.  [PJC]
•  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.  [PJC]
•  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.  [PJC]

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}.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

background, n.
1 part of a scene, picture, or description, that serves as a setting to the chief figures or objects and foreground.
2 an inconspicuous or obscure position (kept in the background).
3 a person's education, knowledge, or social circumstances.
4 explanatory or contributory information or circumstances.
5 Physics low-intensity ambient radiation from radioisotopes present in the natural environment.
6 Electronics unwanted signals, such as noise in the reception or recording of sound.

Idiom

background music music intended as an unobtrusive accompaniment to some activity, or to provide atmosphere in a film etc.

THESAURUS

background

action, agora, amphitheater, anagnorisis, angle, architectonics, architecture, arena, argument, athletic field, atmosphere, auditorium, back, backdrop, background detail, backstage, bear garden, behind the scenes, blaseness, bowl, boxing ring, breeding, bull ring, campus, canvas, catastrophe, characterization, circus, cockpit, coliseum, color, colosseum, complication, continuity, contrivance, course, credentials, curriculum vitae, decorative composition, decorative style, denouement, design, detail, development, device, distance, episode, experience, fable, falling action, family, field, figure, floor, foil, foreground detail, form, forum, gimmick, ground, gym, gymnasium, hall, hinterland, hippodrome, history, horizon, in the background, incident, inconspicuous, line, lists, local color, locale, marketplace, mat, milieu, mise-en-scene, mood, motif, movement, mythos, national style, obscurity, offing, open forum, ornamental motif, palaestra, parade ground, past experience, pattern, period style, peripeteia, pit, place, plan, platform, plot, practical knowledge, practice, precinct, prize ring, public square, purlieu, range, rear, recognition, remote distance, repeated figure, ring, rising action, sagacity, scene, scene of action, scenery, scheme, seasoning, secondary plot, setting, site, slant, sophistication, sphere, squared circle, stadium, stage, stage set, stage setting, story, structure, style, subject, subplot, switch, tempering, terrain, the distance, theater, thematic development, theme, tilting ground, tiltyard, tone, topic, touch, training, twist, unnoticed, unobtrusive, unseen, upbringing, vanishing point, walk, worldly wisdom, wrestling ring

ROGET THESAURUS

background

Distance

N distance, space, remoteness, farness, far- cry to, longinquity, elongation, offing, background, remote region, removedness, parallax, reach, span, stride, outpost, outskirt, horizon, aphelion, foreign parts, ultima Thule, ne plus ultra, antipodes, long range, giant's stride, dispersion, length, cosmic distance, light-years, distant, far off, far away, remote, telescopic, distal, wide of, stretching to, yon, yonder, ulterior, transmarine, transpontine, transatlantic, transalpine, tramontane, ultramontane, ultramundane, hyperborean, antipodean, inaccessible, out of the way, unapproached, unapproachable, incontiguous, far off, far away, afar, afar off, off, away, a long way off, a great way off, a good way off, wide away, aloof, wide of, clear of, out of the way, out of reach, abroad, yonder, farther, further, beyond, outre mer, over the border, far and wide, over the hills and far away, from pole to pole, to the uttermost parts, to the ends of the earth, out of hearing, nobody knows where, a perte de vue, out of the sphere of, wide of the mark, a far cry to, apart, asunder, wide apart, wide asunder, longo intervallo, at arm's length, distance lends enchantment, it's a long long way to Tipperary, out of sight, out of mind.

Rear

N rear, back, posteriority, rear rank, rear guard, background, hinterland, occiput, nape, chine, heels, tail, rump, croup, buttock, posteriors, backside scut, breech, dorsum, loin, dorsal region, lumbar region, hind quarters, aitchbone, natch, natch bone, stern, poop, afterpart, heelpiece, crupper, wake, train, reverse, other side of the shield, back, rear, hind, hinder, hindmost, hindermost, postern, posterior, dorsal, after, caudal, lumbar, mizzen, tergal, behind, in the rear, in the background, behind one's back, at the heels of, at the tail of, at the back of, back to back, after, aft, abaft, astern, sternmost, aback, rearward, ogni medaglia ha il suo rovescio, the other side of the coin.