(computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows appear
a person's social heritage: previous experience or training; "he is a lawyer with a sports background"
information that is essential to understanding a situation or problem; "the embassy filled him in on the background of the incident"
the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground; "he posed her against a background of rolling hills"
relatively unimportant or inconspicuous accompanying situation; "when the rain came he could hear the sound of thunder in the background"
extraneous signals that can be confused with the phenomenon to be observed or measured; "they got a bad connection and could hardly hear one another over the background signals"
understate the importance or quality of; "he played down his royal ancestry"
the continuum of experience in which events pass from the future through the present to the past
a person's experience on a particular occasion; "he had a time holding back the tears"; "they had a good time together"
an instance or single occasion for some event; "this time he succeeded"; "he called four times"; "he could do ten at a clip"
an indefinite period (usually marked by specific attributes or activities); "he waited a long time"; "the time of year for planting"; "he was a great actor is his time"
a suitable moment; "it is time to go"
a period of time considered as a resource under your control and sufficient to accomplish something; "take time to smell the roses"; "I didn't have time to finish"; "it took more than half my time"
adjust so that a force is applied and an action occurs at the desired time; "The good player times his swing so as to hit the ball squarely"
regulate or set the time of; "time the clock"
assign a time for an activity or event; "The candidate carefully timed his appearance at the disaster scene"
set the speed, duration, or execution of; "we time the process to manufacture our cars very precisely"
pleasant in manner or behavior; "I didn`t enjoy it and probably wasn't a pleasant person to be around"
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings; "a pleasant person to be around"; "we had a pleasant evening together"; "a pleasant scene"; "pleasant sensations"
old; no longer in use or valid or fashionable; "obsolete words"; "an obsolete locomotive"; "outdated equipment"; "superannuated laws"; "out-of-date ideas"
characterized by courtesy and gracious good manners; "if a man be gracious and courteous to strangers it shows he is a citizen of the world"-Francis Bacon
exhibiting courtesy and politeness; "a nice gesture"
not influenced or affected; "stewed in its petty provincialism untouched by the brisk debates that stirred the old world"- V.L.Parrington; "unswayed by personal considerations"
a single undivided whole; "an idea is not a unit that can be moved from one brain to another"
an organization regarded as part of a larger social group; "the coach said the offensive unit did a good job"; "after the battle the soldier had trouble rejoining his unit"
a single undivided natural thing occurring in the composition of something else; "units of nucleic acids"
an individual or group or structure or other entity regarded as a structural or functional constituent of a whole; "the reduced the number of units and installations"; "the word is a basic linguistic unit"
a raised horizontal surface; "the speaker mounted the platform"
any military structure or vehicle bearing weapons
the combination of a particular computer and a particular operating system
a document stating the aims and principles of a political party; "their candidate simply ignored the party platform"; "they won the election even though they offered no positive program"
a competitive exhibition of farm products; "she won a blue ribbon for her baking at the county fair"
gathering of producers to promote business; "world fair"; "trade fair"; "book fair"
(used of hair or skin) pale or light-colored; "a fair complexion";
free of clouds or rain; "today will be fair and warm"
(of a baseball) hit between the foul lines; "he hit a fair ball over the third base bag"
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; or conforming with established standards or rules; "a fair referee"; "fair deal"; "on a fair footing"; "a fair fight"; "by fair means or foul"
not excessive or extreme; "a fairish income"; "reasonable prices"
used of plants; capable of cross-fertilization or of being grafted
suitable to your needs or similar to your nature; "a congenial atmosphere to work in"; "two congenial spirits united...by mutual confidence and reciprocal virtues"- T.L.Peacock
an officer holding a commissioned rank in the United States Navy or the United States Coast Guard; below lieutenant commander and above lieutenant junior grade