background

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(1) The non-interactive processing in the computer. See foreground/background.

(2) The base, or backdrop color. In order to distinguish any image on screen, whether text or graphics, there must be a contrasting background color.

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1. Anything used to support the message of a radio or television commercial or print advertisement-for example, sound effects, music, location, special scenery, or colors. These elements are used for a realistic effect and add to the emotional appeal of an advertisement or commercial. The background (abbreviated BG) also provides a subliminal message about the user of the product. For example: in an automobile advertisement where the car is displayed with prominence against a background of young people at a high school football game, there is the subliminal message that the car is for young people who want to have a good time; or for older people who want to feel young. Similarly, a soft-drink commercial where the canned beverage is passed from hand to hand at a local town parade featuring happy, smiling people conveys the subliminal message that everyone who drinks this beverage will be happy.

2. Compilation of facts, figures, and past experience upon which decisions for future advertising and marketing are made.

noun

Past events surrounding a person or thing: history, past. See happen.

n

Definition: circumstances
Antonyms: future

[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.

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IN BRIEF: n.- The set of influences and environment such as training, education or experience affecting an individual's personality.

We should not and cannot change all our differences. Each of us brings from our own background things which we should share. There is good in diversity. — Georgie Anne Geyer, Source: Newspaper clipping, Albert W. Daw Collection

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sign description: The letters B and G are signed on the palm of the opposite open hand.

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1. The end of the flavor profile when described versus time. A background character is associated with the perception of higher molecular weight compounds with lower volatility and lower vapor pressures or of some non-volatile or trigeminal responsive substances that appear at the end of a flavor profile.
   
2. The background could also be described as the base character of the food product either with or without a flavor system added. This background could have off flavors that have developed through time or through processing. A flavor could then be developed to cover up these undesirable characters. See Top Note, Middle Ground.
   

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any intrusive sound or electronic signal registered by a detector but not coming from the source being measured, e.g. the radioactivity registered by a counter in the absence of a radioactive sample.

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For a list of words related to background, see:

• Movie People and Show Business - background: part of a scene or set situated behind the actors; extras
• Secrecy and Concealment - background: less obvious or somewhat obscured information

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See words rhyming with "background."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Background.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - baggrund

idioms:

• background job    jobrutine, som afvikles i baggrunden, baggrundskørsel
• background operation    jobrutine, som afvikles i baggrunden, baggrundskørsel
• background processing    baggrundsprocessering

Nederlands (Dutch)
achtergrond, achterplan, landschap, verleden

Français (French)
n. - fond, arrière-plan, arrière-plans, arrière-corps, origines, formation, éducation, antécédents, contexte historique, données de base

idioms:

• background job    (Comput) tâche d'arrière-plan
• background operation    (Comput) opération d'arrière-plan
• background processing    (Comput) traitement d'arrière-plan

Deutsch (German)
n. - Hintergrund, Vergangenheit

idioms:

• background job    Hintergrundauftrag
• background operation    Hintergrundauftrag
• background processing    Hintergrundbearbeitung

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - φόντο, πλαίσιο, (μτφ.) καταγωγή, ιστορικό, παρασκήνιο, ιστορικό πλαίσιο, υποδομή, κατάρτιση

idioms:

• background job    (Η/Υ) εργασία που εκτελείται στο παρασκήνιο
• background operation    (Η/Υ) λειτουργία παρασκηνίου
• background processing    (Η/Υ) επεξεργασία παρασκηνίου

Italiano (Italian)
retroterra, panorama, sfondo, antecedenti

Português (Portuguese)
n. - fundo (m), experiência (f), motivo (m), fundo (m) musical, antecedentes (m pl), cenário (m)

Русский (Russian)
фон, профессиональная подготовка, происхождение

Español (Spanish)
n. - fondo, antecedentes, pasado, trasfondo

idioms:

• background job    rutina secundaria del ordenador que corre simultáneamente con otras
• background operation    rutina secundaria del ordenador que corre simultáneamente con otras
• background processing    procesamiento de rutina secundaria

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - bakgrund

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
背景

idioms:

• background job    后台工作
• background operation    后台操作, 后台业务
• background processing    背景处理

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 背景

idioms:

• background job    後台工作
• background operation    後台操作, 後台業務
• background processing    背景處理

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 배경, 이면, 경력,경험

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 背景, 遠因, 地, 経歴

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الخلفيه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮רקע, עמדה מעורפלת, מידע המציג נושא‬

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Some good "background" pages on the web: