background

Meanings

Adjective

• Less important or less noticeable in a scene or system.

Noun

• One's social heritage, or previous life; what one did in the past.
• A part of the picture that depicts scenery to the rear or behind the main subject; context.
• Information relevant to the current situation about past events; history.
• A less important feature of scenery (as opposed to foreground).
• The image or color over which a computer's desktop items are shown (e.g. icons or application windows).
• A type of activity on a computer that is not normally visible to the user.

Verb

• To put in a position that is not prominent.
• To gather and provide background information (on).

Related

Opposite words

• conspicuous, foreground, forestanding, primary, prominent

Origin

• back + ground