backlight

American  

[bak-lahyt] / ˈbækˌlaɪt /

noun

1. Movies, Television. a light source placed behind an actor, object, or scene to create a highlight that separates the subject from the background.

   Put a backlight on that rain to make it more visible in this evening shot.

2. Electronics. the light source, often LED arrays, behind the screen of a flat-screen electronic display, as a television, computer monitor, or smartphone.

   A full-array LED backlight gives the picture a deeper color range than an edge-lit screen would.

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verb (used with object)

backlighted, backlit, backlighting

1. to illuminate from behind: The hallway lamp backlit Mom when she cracked our bedroom door to check on us and whisper goodnight.

   One of the wedding photos is just a silhouette of the couple backlighted by the sunset on the beach.

   The hallway lamp backlit Mom when she cracked our bedroom door to check on us and whisper goodnight.

Etymology

Origin of backlight

First recorded in 1950–55; back ¹ + light ¹

Example Sentences

Around him were additional signs of disrepair: an X-ray examination board without a functioning backlight, and a dust-covered ultraviolet sterilization machine that hadn’t worked in months.

From Los Angeles Times

Instead of a single white backlight, it uses tens of thousands of red, green and blue LEDs for super saturated hues.

From The Wall Street Journal

With both the racing itself and the hoopla around race weekend, the usual filmmaking mindset simply had to change: “I’m not always able to shoot sunset for this shot, or backlight for this quarter,” said Miranda, describing his thinking.

From Los Angeles Times

“One, I was always trying to backlight him,” he said.

From Salon

The space was just large enough for two-person interviews, with a pair of chairs and sufficient backlight to make the participants distinct against the black curtain used as the backdrop.

From Slate