foreground

CEFRC1

/ˈfɔː(ɹ)ˌɡɹaʊnd/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The part of a view or picture nearest the observer.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    The application the user is currently interacting with; the application window that appears in front of all others.

Examples

  • The couch is in the foreground next to the table.

  • The man in the background is my grandfather, and my father is in the foreground.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
3
Synonyms
1

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The subject of an image, often depicted at the bottom in a two-dimensional work.

  2. The elements of an image which lie closest to the picture plane.

verb

Extra meaning

  1. To place in the foreground (physically or metaphorically).

More examples

In context

  • Right from the start, The Irishman foregrounds the looming inevitability of death.

  • Note the presence in the foreground of the fronds of ailanthus, often called “ghetto palm,” now ubiquitous in Baltimore but apparently already common in the 1930s.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The artist intentionally placed the bright red apple in the blank to attract viewers' attention immediately.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From fore- + ground. Compare Dutch voorgrond (“foreground”), German Vordergrund (“foreground”), Danish forgrund (“foreground”), Swedish förgrund (“foreground”), Norwegian forgrunn (“foreground”), Icelandic forgrunni (“foreground”).