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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

background.

Less important or less noticeable in a scene or system.

10 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈbæk.(ɡ)ɹaʊnd/
  1. Less important or less noticeable in a scene or system.

    not-comparable
    background noise
    The antivirus program runs on a background thread.
Where this word comes from

From back + ground. Compare backstory.

noun/ˈbæk.(ɡ)ɹaʊnd/
  1. One's social heritage, or previous life; what one did in the past.

    countable · uncountable
    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.

    countable · uncountable
  3. An extra who appears in the background, with no speaking role.

    countable · uncountable
  4. Information relevant to the current situation about past events; history.

    countable · uncountable
  5. A less important feature of scenery (as opposed to foreground).

    countable · uncountable
    There was tons of noise in the background.
    The photographer let us pick a background for the portrait.
  6. The image or color over which a computer's desktop items are shown (e.g. icons or application windows).

    countable · uncountable
  7. A type of activity on a computer that is not normally visible to the user.

    countable · uncountable
    The antivirus program is running in the background.
  8. Ellipsis of background radiation.

    abbreviation · alt-of · countable · ellipsis · uncountable
    low-background
Where this word comes from

From back + ground. Compare backstory.

verb/ˈbæk.(ɡ)ɹaʊnd/
  1. To place in the background.

    transitive
  2. To put in a position that is not prominent.

    figuratively · transitive
  3. To gather and provide background information (on).

  4. 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.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From back + ground. Compare backstory.

verb/ˈbæk.(ɡ)ɹaʊnd/
  1. simple past and past participle of backgrind

    form-of · participle · past
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.