background music
Americannoun
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music, often recorded, intended to provide a soothing background, usually played over loudspeaker systems in public places, as railway stations or restaurants.
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music composed specifically to accompany and heighten the mood of a visual production, as a movie.
Etymology
Origin of background music
First recorded in 1925–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The tariffs have largely been background music as investors weigh the artificial-intelligence build-out and inflation.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 3, 2026
This is part of the background music in America: Americans who aren’t unemployed and do have a house are afraid that in the next few years they could lose their job, their security.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025
Included in Russia’s newly privatized health care system were private clinics for the ultra-wealthy offering hotel-like amenities, including private rooms, tea and soft background music.
From Salon • Dec. 3, 2025
He went on to play the song Wichita Lineman by Glen Campbell, a song Wright regularly used as background music for his show.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2024
The background music came from a tape deck near the circle of candles, but the high voice was Mary Anne’s.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
