backdrop

[ bak-drop ]

noun

1. alsocalledcomma especially British, back-cloth [bak, -klawth, -kloth] . Theater. the rear curtain of a stage setting.
2. the background of an event; setting.
3. Gymnastics. a maneuver in which a trampolinist jumps in the air, lands on the back with the arms and legs pointed upward, and then springs up to a standing position.

verb (used with object)

, back·dropped or back·dropt, back·drop·ping.

1. to provide a setting or background for:

   A vast mountain range backdrops the broad expanse of lake.

backdrop

/ ˈbækˌdrɒp /

noun

1. See backcloth
   another name for backcloth
2. the background to any scene or situation

Word History and Origins

Origin of backdrop¹

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15; back ¹ + drop

Example Sentences

Against this backdrop, Paul breaking bread with Sharpton may be too much for Republican primary voters to watch or stomach.

From The Daily Beast

At times, it reads as if he is describing the backdrop of a Hieronymus Bosch painting.

From The Daily Beast

What prompted you to pick the fall of the Berlin Wall as the backdrop for your thriller?

From The Daily Beast

All of this is playing out against a backdrop of ferocious political rivalries and discord in the capital of Sanaa.

From The Daily Beast

Harris will shoot short video clips of each pledge using a “Luvvy” canvas as a backdrop.

From The Daily Beast

The painted backdrop on the wall of the theatre was still visible prior to restoration and the simple mural was to be restored.

From Project Gutenberg

Buildings strewn like a careless giant's toys formed a vague and monstrous backdrop.

From Project Gutenberg

He recognized a backdrop he had seen thousands of times behind the announcer who introduced the news-casts.

From Project Gutenberg

She was raised for the most-part in Maine, which forms a backdrop to much of her fiction.

From Project Gutenberg

Nothing there but the familiar starry backdrop, the moon far down to the left.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• scenery