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background English

Meaning background meaning

What does background mean?
Definitions in simple English

background

The background is what can be seen or heard behind other things that are closer or louder. I was talking to Mary, but I heard the phone ringing in the background. The play was good, and I especially liked the backgrounds that were used. The background of a person is his/her history. The police checked his background to see if he had been in jail.

background

To make a background.

background

a person's social heritage: previous experience or training he is a lawyer with a sports background information that is essential to understanding a situation or problem the embassy filled him in on the background of the incident the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground he posed her against a background of rolling hills (= background signal) 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 relatively unimportant or inconspicuous accompanying situation when the rain came he could hear the sound of thunder in the background (= setting) the state of the environment in which a situation exists you can't do that in a university setting (= play down) understate the importance or quality of he played down his royal ancestry (computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows appear (= backdrop) scenery hung at back of stage

Synonyms background synonyms

What other words have the same or similar meaning as background?

Topics background topics

What do people use background to talk about?

Examples background examples

How do I use background in a sentence?

Simple sentences

That shows his theoretical background.
Paint the trees against the background of the blue sky.
His humble background parallels that of his predecessor.
She is shy and always remains in the background.
His poor educational background was not a bar to his advancement.
Music that doesn't transmit feelings, images, thoughts, or memories is just background noise.
Tom had his picture taken with Mt. Fuji in the background.
The portrait had a dark background.
The default color of the desktop's background is blue.
Tom came from a poor background, but he later became quite rich.
Tom was from a humble background, but he became one of the richest men in the country.
The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE)'s mission was to study the microwave sky in order to detect radiation emitted by the Big Bang.
I like to read with background music.
Pay will be based on experience and educational background.
Let's get a picture of us with the sea in the background.
There is a castle in the background of the picture.
He is always in the background.
Who is that man in the background of the picture?
I could hear them laugh in the background.
I hear the hubbub of the children in the background.
Tom has an interesting background.
I come from a humble background.
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is a city with a Japanese cultural background.

Movie subtitles

VOICES IN BACKGROUND We're evacuating patients, but no-one's telling us where the fire is.
Is that Anita Baker playing in the background?
Background on Maureen Moffatt, lived alone for a long time, always a strong advocate for Evan and his mayoralty aspirations, worked like a Trojan but liked to party. She had a penchant for fancy dress.
She thought I needed background, so she gave it to me with southern exposure.. anda fineviewoftheMediterranean.
Well, for eight years I reclined there, on the Riviera, on my background.. andI waitedforthe majorartist to emerge.. andsaysomething of enduring importance.
Tell me, Dr. Hackenbush just what was your medical background?
Grandpa, you're outside. You fade into the background.
Into the background!
What is the young man's background?
But we must know more about Mr. Chase's background.
America is more and more conscious of its background.
How does such a lovely person with your obvious background and position. come to be here?
It, too, has it's degrees and it's secrets as well as it's religious, or should I say, philosophical background.
You're from a gentler background, and this is a hard legion.
You marry someone with the same religion and background.
But poor commander gordon will be left right into the background.
The name of Zachary Fiske must remain in the background at any cost.
But, in Spain, the husbands of adorable ladies are merely background.
No. I'll just stay in the background.
Well, I was thinking if we could keep Grant in the background have someone else demonstrate the invisible ray and when Father became enthusiastic we could spring it on him that Grant was the real inventor.
Look, Jack, they hired me to hoof in the background and that's all they're gonna get.
I don't question that you have been subject to a recurring dream, and no doubt it has a background vaguely similar to this.
Why are you at a ho. Is that Anita Baker playing in the background?
Just a change of background.
I gotta have background.
How's this for background, sweetheart?
Jimmy, if your play was a success we could choose our own background always, couldn't we?
Clarissa, i always say it doesn't pay to inquire too closely into the background of us summer saratoga folk. Take you, clarissa. You call yourself a lady, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you are one, does it?
Lewt can supply the charming musical background.
I wanted to know the background of Gania's life, the people he lives with.
Nothing in her background should have brought her closer to the stage than Row E.
Write plenty of background so they'll need an extra director.
Such as his civilian background. How did he take it when you said I was coming?
Flowers against a background of. gravy.

News and current affairs

Now those talks have resumed, but the background to the negotiations has changed dramatically.
Ariel Sharon, who comes from a military background - he grew up in a social milieu much nearer to Labor than to Jabotinsky's ideas - is a strategic hawk.
The civil war continued for another six years, followed by a bumpy political aftermath: Syrian intervention and expulsion (two decades later), as the Lebanese defined their own fate with the US exercising only background influence.
This is because societies in which opportunities and inequality are inherited are considered to be less fair than societies in which family background is less important.
Social mobility in Lebanon, it seems, is extremely low and family background is a key factor in determining social outcomes.
India, with which Pakistan shares a similar background, went through 40 years of dysfunctional democracy with a one-party system.
Unlike immigration from non-European countries, East European immigrants share a similar cultural background and will assimilate easily.
Against this background, it is premature to talk about withdrawing American troops.
Against this background, a rapid and comprehensive transformation is clearly not feasible.
Embedding Europe's cultural and ethical background in goods and services that reflect these values would not only set the European economy apart from the rest of the world, but would also strengthen these values globally.
The problem with this precedent is that Morsi does not have de Gaulle's background, and Egypt's chaotic political transition of 2013 is far from France's consolidated democracy of 1968.
Indeed, the religious background of Europe's nations clearly manifested itself in various European laws on such research, with the United Kingdom and Sweden being the most liberal and Italy, Austria, and Poland the most restrictive.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel gives speeches at security conferences that find favor in America, but otherwise Germany prefers to stay in the background.
Against this background, the EU needs to take action on two fronts.
Against that background, it is hard to believe that we will quickly return to the heady growth in financial assets, credit, and risk we saw from the 1970's to 2007.
Their president had become background noise.
Against this background, Obama should heed the doctrine proposed in 1991 by General Colin Powell.
The key to success is the background against which the process plays out.
For example, Colorado and many other states have sought to require more stringent background checks, aimed at preventing those with criminal records or obvious mental-health problems from arming themselves.
Against this geopolitical background, Asia's power dynamics are likely to remain fluid, with new or shifting alliances and strengthened military capabilities continuing to challenge the prevailing order.
Such an approach might make tactical diplomatic sense, as long as there is no background clatter.
One thing is certain: at all but extremely low doses - perhaps only slightly higher than background levels - radiation causes cancer.
Meanwhile, few economists or policymakers had the background needed to tackle the complex tasks ahead.
Against that background, China's increasingly assertive territorial and maritime claims threaten Asian peace and stability.
Against this background, efforts now underway to establish a comprehensive multilateral framework for the region can learn from the recent history of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

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