(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
The ~ of an idea or event is the general situation that relates to it, and which helps it to be understood.
We are doing this work in the ~ of reforms in the economic, social and cultural spheres.
...the historical ~ in which Chaucer wrote...
N-VAR: usu with supp, oft adj N, N of n
2.
The ~ of a word, sentence, or text consists of the words, sentences, or text before and after it which help to make its meaning clear.
Without a ~, I would have assumed it was written by a man.
N-VAR
3.
If something is seen in ~ or if it is put into ~, it is considered together with all the factors that relate to it.
Taxation is not popular in principle, merely acceptable in ~...
It is important that we put Jesus into the ~ of history.
PHRASE
4.
If a statement or remark is quoted out of ~, the circumstances in which it was said are not correctly reported, so that it seems to mean something different from the meaning that was intended.
Thomas says that he has been taken out of ~ on the issue...
PHRASE