(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
Your ~ is the kind of family you come from and the kind of education you have had. It can also refer to such things as your social and racial origins, your financial status, or the type of work experience that you have.
She came from a working-class ~...
His ~ was in engineering.
N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp
2.
The ~ to an event or situation consists of the facts that explain what caused it.
The meeting takes place against a ~ of continuing political violence.
...~ information.
N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp, oft against N
3.
The ~ is sounds, such as music, which you can hear but which you are not listening to with your full attention.
I kept hearing the sound of applause in the ~...
The ~ music was provided by an accordion player.
? foreground
N-SING: the N
4.
You can use ~ to refer to the things in a picture or scene that are less noticeable or important than the main things or people in it.
...roses patterned on a blue ~...
? foreground
N-COUNT: usu sing
•
Someone who stays in the ~ avoids being noticed, although the things that they do are important or influential.
Rosemary likes to stay in the ~.
PHRASE