Main entry: backcloth, backdrop, background
Definition: scenery hung at back of stage
Main entry: background, desktop, screen background
Definition: (computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows appear
Main entry: background
Definition: a person's social heritage: previous experience or training
Usage: he is a lawyer with a sports background
Main entry: background, background knowledge
Definition: information that is essential to understanding a situation or problem
Usage: the embassy filled him in on the background of the incident
Main entry: background, ground
Definition: the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground
Usage: he posed her against a background of rolling hills
Main entry: background
Definition: relatively unimportant or inconspicuous accompanying situation
Usage: when the rain came he could hear the sound of thunder in the background
Main entry: background, background signal
Definition: extraneous signals that can be confused with the phenomenon to be observed or measured
Usage: they got a bad connection and could hardly hear one another over the background signals
Main entry: setting, scope, background
Definition: the state of the environment in which a situation exists
Usage: you can't do that in a university setting
Main entry: downplay, play down, background
Definition: understate the importance or quality of
Usage: he played down his royal ancestry