(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"
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"
the act of dropping something; "they expected the drop would be successful"
a central depository where things can be left or picked up
a sudden sharp decrease in some quantity; "a drop of 57 points on the Dow Jones index"; "there was a drop in pressure in the pulmonary artery"; "a dip in prices"; "when that became known the price of their stock went into free fall"
a free and rapid descent by the force of gravity; "it was a miracle that he survived the drop from that height"
a predetermined hiding place for the deposit and distribution of illicit goods (such as drugs or stolen property)
a small indefinite quantity (especially of a liquid); "he had a drop too much to drink"; "a drop of each sample was analyzed"; "there is not a drop of pity in that man"; "years afterward, they would pay the blood-money, driblet by driblet"--Kipling
a shape that is spherical and small; "he studied the shapes of low-viscosity drops"; "beads of sweat on his forehead"
give birth; used for animals; "The cow dropped her calf this morning"
stop pursuing or acting; "drop a lawsuit"; "knock it off!"
go down in value; "Stock prices dropped"
change from one level to another; "She dropped into army jargon"
utter casually; "drop a hint"
lose (a game); "The Giants dropped 11 of their first 13"
leave or unload, especially of passengers or cargo;
to fall vertically; "the bombs are dropping on enemy targets"
let fall to the ground; "Don't drop the dishes"
terminate an association with; "drop him from the Republican ticket"
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"