something (a person or object or scene) selected by an artist or photographer for graphic representation; "a moving picture of a train is more dramatic than a still picture of the same subject"
(grammar) one of the two main constituents of a sentence; the grammatical constituent about which something is predicated
(logic) the first term of a proposition
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion; "he didn't want to discuss that subject"; "it was a very sensitive topic"; "his letters were always on the theme of love"
a person who is subjected to experimental or other observational procedures; someone who is an object of investigation; "the subjects for this investigation were selected randomly"; "the cases that we studied were drawn from two different communities"
likely to be affected by something (especially something unpleasant); "the bond is subject to taxation"; "he is subject to fits of depression"
being under the power or sovereignty of another or others; "subject peoples"; "a dependent prince"
make accountable for; "He did not want to subject himself to the judgments of his superiors"
cause to experience or suffer or make liable or vulnerable to; "He subjected me to his awful poetry"; "The sergeant subjected the new recruits to many drills"; "People in Chernobyl were subjected to radiation"
(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"
report or maintain; "He alleged that he was the victim of a crime"; "He said it was too late to intervene in the war"; "The registrar says that I owe the school money"
a state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and misfortune; "lack of funds has resulted in a catastrophe for our school system"; "his policies were a disaster"