in the background
noun
1.
the ground or parts, as of a scene, situated in the rear ( opposed to foreground ).
2.
3.
one's origin, education, experience, etc., in relation to one's present character, status, etc.
4.
the social, historical, and other antecedents or causes of an event or condition: the background of the war.
5.
the complex of physical, cultural, and psychological factors that serves as the environment of an event or experience; the set of conditions against which an occurrence is perceived.
6.
Physics. the totality of effects that tend to obscure a phenomenon under investigation and above which the phenomenon must be detected.
7.
Telecommunications. (in an electronic device for transmitting or receiving signals) the sum of the effects, as noise or random signals, from which a phenomenon must differentiate itself in character or degree in order to be detected.
adjective
8.
of, pertaining to, or serving as a background: background noise.
00:10
In the background
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
verb (used with object)
Idioms 9.
to supply a background to: The passenger's idle thoughts were backgrounded by the drone of the plane's engines.
10.
to supply a background of information for: To background themselves, reporters dug through all available files on the case.
11.
in/into the background, unobtrusive; inconspicuous; out of sight or notice; in or into obscurity: He kept his dishonest dealings in the background.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To in the background
Collins
World English Dictionary
background (ˈbækˌɡraʊnd) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | the part of a scene or view furthest from the viewer |
| 2. | a. an inconspicuous or unobtrusive position (esp in the phrase in the background) |
| b. (as modifier): a background influence | |
| 3. | art |
| a. the plane or ground in a picture upon which all other planes or forms appear superimposed | |
| b. foreground Compare middle-distance the parts of a picture that appear most distant | |
| 4. | a person's social class, education, training, or experience |
| 5. | a. the social, historical, or technical circumstances that lead up to or help to explain something: the background to the French Revolution |
| b. (as modifier): background information | |
| 6. | a. a low level of sound, lighting, etc, whose purpose is to be an unobtrusive or appropriate accompaniment to something else, such as a social activity, conversation, or the action of a film |
| b. (as modifier): background music | |
| 7. | physics Also called: background radiation low-intensity radiation as, for example, from small amounts of radioisotopes in soil, air, building materials, etc |
| 8. | electronics |
| a. unwanted effects, such as noise, occurring in a measuring instrument, electronic device, etc | |
| b. (as modifier): background interference | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
background
n.,adj.,vt. [common] To do a task `in background' is to do it whenever foreground matters are not claiming your undivided attention, and `to background' something means to relegate it to a lower priority. "For now, we'll just print a list of nodes and links; I'm working on the graph-printing problem in background." Note that this implies ongoing activity but at a reduced level or in spare time, in contrast to mainstream `back burner' (which connotes benign neglect until some future resumption of activity). Some people prefer to use the term for processing that they have queued up for their unconscious minds (a tack that one can often fruitfully take upon encountering an obstacle in creative work). Compare amp off, slopsucker.Technically, a task running in background is detached from the terminal where it was started (and often running at a lower priority); oppose foreground. Nowadays this term is primarily associated with Unix, but it appears to have been first used in this sense on OS/360.
Jargon
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