(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"
being in effect or operation; "de facto apartheid is still operational even in the `new' African nations"- Leslie Marmon Silko; "bus service is in operation during the emergency"; "the company had several operating divisions"
of or intended for or involved in military operations
pertaining to a process or series of actions for achieving a result; "operational difficulties"; "they assumed their operational positions"
abjectly submissive; characteristic of a slave or servant; "slavish devotion to her job ruled her life"; "a slavish yes-man to the party bosses"- S.H.Adams; "she has become submissive and subservient"
blindly imitative; "a slavish copy of the original"
electric lamp consisting of a transparent or translucent glass housing containing a wire filament (usually tungsten) that emits light when heated by electricity
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"
the act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy; "hold your fire until you can see the whites of their eyes"; "they retreated in the face of withering enemy fire"
a fireplace in which a relatively small fire is burning; "they sat by the fire and talked"
intense adverse criticism; "Clinton directed his fire at the Republican Party"; "the government has come under attack"; "don't give me any flak"
the event of something burning (often destructive); "they lost everything in the fire"
a severe trial; "he went through fire and damnation"
the process of combustion of inflammable materials producing heat and light and (often) smoke; "fire was one of our ancestors' first discoveries"
once thought to be one of four elements composing the universe (Empedocles)
bake in a kiln so as to harden; "fire pottery"
cause to go off; "fire a gun"; "fire a bullet"
go off or discharge; "The gun fired"
drive out or away by or as if by fire; "The soldiers were fired"; "Surrender fires the cold skepticism"
terminate the employment of; "The boss fired his secretary today"; "The company terminated 25% of its workers"