background

Noun

• scenery hung at back of stage

• (computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows appear

• the state of the environment in which a situation exists
  • you can't do that in a university setting
    

• relatively unimportant or inconspicuous accompanying situation
  • when the rain came he could hear the sound of thunder in the background
    

• 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
    

• 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
    

• a person's social heritage: previous experience or training
  • he is a lawyer with a sports background
    

Verb

• understate the importance or quality of
  • he played down his royal ancestry
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  backdrop , backcloth , desktop , screen background , setting , scope , background signal , background knowledge , ground , play down , downplay
• Antonyms: 
  foreground , highlight , spotlight , play up