Meaning of BACKGROUND
| Pronunciation: | | 'bak`grawnd
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| Matching Terms: | | background knowledge, background level, background noise, background processing, background radiation, Background retinopathy, background signal, backgrounder, backgrounding
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 Computing Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | | 1. A task running in the background (a background task) is detached from the terminal where it was started (and often running at a lower priority); opposite of foreground. This means that the task's input and output must be from/to files (or other processes). Nowadays this term is primarily associated with Unix, but it appears to have been first used in this sense on OS/360. Compare amp off, batch, slopsucker. 2. For a human to do a task "in the 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 the 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 (often a fruitful tack to take upon encountering an obstacle in creative work). |
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| Thesaurus Terms |
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| | Related Terms: | | action, agora, amphitheater, anagnorisis, angle, architectonics, architecture, arena, argument, athletic field, atmosphere, auditorium, back, backdrop, background detail, backstage, bear garden, behind the scenes, blaseness, bowl, boxing ring, breeding, bull ring, campus, canvas, catastrophe, characterization, circus, cockpit, coliseum, color, colosseum, complication, continuity, contrivance, course, credentials, curriculum vitae, decorative composition, decorative style, denouement, design, detail, development, device, distance, episode, experience, fable, falling action, family, field, figure, floor, foil, foreground detail, form, forum, gimmick, ground, gym, gymnasium, hall, hinterland, hippodrome, history, horizon, in the background, incident, inconspicuous, line, lists, local color, locale, marketplace, mat, milieu, mise-en-scene, mood, motif, movement, mythos, national style, obscurity, offing, open forum, ornamental motif, palaestra, parade ground, past experience, pattern, period style, peripeteia, pit, place, plan, platform, plot, practical knowledge, practice, precinct, prize ring, public square, purlieu, range, rear, recognition, remote distance, repeated figure, ring, rising action, sagacity, scene, scene of action, scenery, scheme, seasoning, secondary plot, setting, site, slant, sophistication, sphere, squared circle, stadium, stage, stage set, stage setting, story, structure, style, subject, subplot, switch, tempering, terrain, the distance, theater, thematic development, theme, tilting ground, tiltyard, tone, topic, touch, training, twist, unnoticed, unobtrusive, unseen, upbringing, vanishing point, walk, worldly wisdom, wrestling ring |
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