background

Everyday

1. The background of a picture or scene is the part behind the main things, furthest from you. tree →
2. Your background is your family, your culture, where you come from, your education and experience. tree →
3. Background information is the facts you need to understand something. tree →
4. In the background means present but not the centre of attention: background music, background noise. tree →

In the lessons

In art lessons pupils draw the foreground, middle ground and background to show distance. In computers, the background is the picture on the screen or programs running «in the background». In history and reading, background helps you understand a story or event. In class, pupils come from many backgrounds and learn to respect them. Phrases: «in the background», «background noise», «family background», «background check».

Examples

• The mountains are in the background of the painting. tree →
• Our class photo has the school in the background. tree →
• There was a lot of background noise in the café. tree →
• The teacher gave us some background on the war. tree →
• Children in our class come from many different backgrounds. tree →
• Soft music played in the background. tree →
• I changed the background on my tablet to a picture of my dog. tree →
• The app keeps running in the background. tree →
• Fortunately for him the demons did not see him, as the tree was in the background. tree →

Note

Countable (a background, backgrounds), but «background information» is uncountable. Opposite of background in pictures: foreground. Online safety: be careful that photos and video calls do not show your address or school in the background.