How to Use background in a Sentence

background

1 of 2 noun
  • Objects in the foreground are drawn larger than those in the background.
  • Let me provide you with some background on this problem.
  • An ethnic conflict that was simmering away in the background finally erupted into civil war.
  • The background is a mashup of mother-of-pearl and aventurine.
    Carol Bresler, Robb Report, 13 Mar. 2024
  • A lot of my voice memos have the bath running in the background.
    Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2024
  • His legs melt into the green portion of the background of the canvas.
    Emily Lordi, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2023
  • That is something that would have been able to pop on a background check.
    Nbc Universal, NBC News, 29 Oct. 2023
  • Simply ease those thoughts to the background and return to your mantra.
    Corey Seymour, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2023
  • There is some background on Idol himself in the film, but to a much lesser degree.
    Lily Moayeri, SPIN, 15 Dec. 2023
  • Are there no background checks for Danish prison guards?
    Peter Debruge, Variety, 22 Feb. 2024
  • The reviewer also points out that the cream background gives the pillows a vintage feel.
    Gabriela Izquierdo, Southern Living, 5 Mar. 2024
  • Friends were unwilling to go through the lengthy background check process the program requires.
    Eleanore Catolico, Detroit Free Press, 16 Jan. 2024
  • In fact, their musical background helped to shape hers.
    Jessica Booth, Peoplemag, 16 Oct. 2023
  • An arch with Chicago’s name printed in large Bratz purple font stood in the background.
    Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 26 Jan. 2024
  • But pizza in the United States has since had a glow-up, and many chefs with fine-dining backgrounds are now at the helm of their own pie shops.
    Tori Latham, Robb Report, 1 Sep. 2023
  • The younger Carroll has a notable background with wide receivers.
    Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 29 Jan. 2024
  • Some background: Swift is, for all intents and purposes, at the height of her career.
    WIRED, 26 Sep. 2023
  • Did your own background as a member of the Parsi community help with the role?
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 5 Oct. 2023
  • Both the lighting and music are soft, though, creating a background as soothing as the food.
    Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023
  • Fischman, who has a background in tax law, looked through the committee’s records and found one payment to the IRS over the two-year period.
    Hannah Gaskill, Baltimore Sun, 7 Aug. 2023
  • Sarah Ann has since moved in with him, which is why the background of all her recent TikTok videos looked familiar.
    Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 14 Mar. 2024
  • Born and raised in Philly, Mims’ fashion and fine arts background laid the foundation for her venture into leather goods.
    Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 8 June 2023
  • The backgrounds have some detail, but even with its later iteration, there was a stock feeling to the game.
    Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 31 Aug. 2023
  • The one from the school district provided some background: The fight on Feb. 7 involved several students at the high school.
    Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Washington Post, 21 Feb. 2024
  • The background of the pristine shoreline and azure sea are lush tropical greenery and large boulders.
    Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY, 14 Mar. 2024
  • The background of the case Jury selection is to begin Tuesday in the father's trial.
    Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, 1 Mar. 2024
  • Georges recently spoke about her background and getting the pilot brewery off the ground.
    Kristine M. Kierzek, Journal Sentinel, 13 June 2023
  • Salb was able to position the insect on a stick and isolate it from the background, showing off the intricacies of its back.
    Carolyn Hagler, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 May 2023
  • The nature of the injury was not disclosed and the jury was instructed to consider the messages as background in the trial.
    Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 18 Dec. 2023
  • Although the hit wasn’t her first song, the artist and her background dancers were virtually naked toting artillery guns.
    Essence, 18 Oct. 2023
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background

2 of 2 verb
  • Poynter has more details about the companies involved and background on some of the events that led to the deal.
    oregonlive, 22 Feb. 2022
  • Wouldn’t background guys Joakim Noah or Marreese Speights have been a better fit?
    Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2019
  • Winsor notes her presence as a third helping hand and background in golf as a major help for the team.
    Koki Riley, The Arizona Republic, 9 Oct. 2020
  • In Mr Saadawi’s story, set in 2005, the Americans are reduced to background noise.
    The Economist, 15 Feb. 2018
  • Visa winners are then subjected to background checks that can last for months.
    Author: Linda Qiu, Anchorage Daily News, 31 Jan. 2018
  • Digital overtook live and background for the first time to become the second largest income stream.
    Jem Aswad, Variety, 27 Oct. 2021
  • Spring smells the same every year, and that scent is sharpest when the season is new — before the smell grows familiar and is relegated to background noise.
    Genevieve Fullan, Longreads, 12 Apr. 2022
  • The plot of the show was brilliant, and on top of that, there were endless amounts of people, from main characters to background characters, wearing the best outfits.
    Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 22 Nov. 2022
  • Spooner-Gomez prepares in-house marketing with fliers about the student and their dish then shares background on the meals with faculty.
    Peggy Hernandez, BostonGlobe.com, 14 June 2022
  • On Friday, Abbott specifically pointed to background checks and efforts to keep guns out of the hands of people who may pose a risk to those around them.
    Dakin Andone, CNN, 21 May 2018
  • And, unlike Hodge, Ratley doesn’t have the special teams background to consider.
    Scott Patsko, cleveland, 25 Aug. 2020
  • But sometimes people only saw her gender or background and not her skill.
    Sean Collins, Dallas News, 3 Sep. 2020
  • Much of the four-part series' first episode is devoted to background information.
    Tyler Aquilina, EW.com, 22 Feb. 2021
  • Would background checks beyond those that already exist help?
    The Editorial Board, WSJ, 25 May 2022
  • Marra was accustomed to background noise on his fiber optics.
    Eric Hand, Science | AAAS, 14 June 2018
  • The company also revamped its approach to background checks.
    Sara Ashley O'Brien, CNN, 14 July 2022
  • The tropical fruit flavors of the Guatemalan natural were reduced to background notes, though there was a lovely hint of dark chocolate bitterness.
    Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2021
  • After that, the stars will meander relative to background quasars unless astronomers dispatch a follow-up mission to remap the sky.
    Joshua Sokol, Science | AAAS, 24 Nov. 2020
  • How did your own personal stories and background with religion play into the building of your novels?
    Seija Rankin, EW.com, 2 June 2021
  • His special teams background surely helped, the G-Men covering an onside kick in the final minute far more effectively than, say, the Falcons would.
    Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 19 Oct. 2020
  • We aren’t opposed to background checks or regulating large magazines or bump stocks, but no one should think these will stop a determined killer.
    The Editorial Board, WSJ, 4 Oct. 2017
  • As the name implies, the feature minimizes background noise that might otherwise be picked up through your device’s microphone.
    Yoni Heisler, BGR, 23 May 2022
  • If the media jack up everything to 11, from Putin to family separation to a Michael Cohen tape about a Playboy model, then much of the coverage gets reduced to background noise.
    Howard Kurtz, Fox News, 31 July 2018
  • Another big change comes to background tabs, which won't show as individual tabs anymore.
    Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 23 Apr. 2018
  • On the Ranch's other website, there is no information on the horses or weight restrictions, just information on the services offered and background on the ranch itself.
    Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 13 June 2022
  • But more than anything, Swift gets to play with her attitude, dropping in signature vocal quirks over the toe-tapping beat, backgrounded by a chorus of dramatic sighs.
    Raisa Bruner, Time, 23 Aug. 2019
  • The measures limit purchases of handguns to one each month; require that gun buyers submit to background checks; and allow local governments to ban guns in parks and public buildings.
    New York Times, 20 Jan. 2020
  • Inside an 80-foot-tall chamber on Lockheed Martin’s Denver-area campus, backgrounded by red-rock ridges, stands a hulking spacecraft.
    Sarah Scoles, WIRED, 12 July 2018
  • Significant changes to background checks, age restrictions and bump stock restrictions have passed in states like Florida, Oregon and Vermont this year.
    Stephen Collinson, CNN, 4 May 2018
  • Henyard agreed to background checks moving forward but refused to execute the retroactive portion of the plan, and that has added another chapter in the battle of the mayor versus a board majority.
    Jeff Vorva, chicagotribune.com, 23 Jan. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'background.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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