backlight
Americannoun
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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.
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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.
verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of backlight
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.
See Examples For:
In fact, a number of gains are to be had by deleting the backlight, starting with greater aero efficiency—critical, since the Polestar 4 is all-electric, and aero drag is the mortal enemy of range.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026
Because each pixel produces its own light, no separate backlight is required.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 4, 2026
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 ● Feb. 13, 2026
“One, I was always trying to backlight him,” he said.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2025
Suma stands in front of me, cave-glow as a backlight, bag over her shoulder.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Slovakian Argentine Gyula Kosice dots a backlighted plastic half-orb with tiny nodes of glowing white, blue or red, suggesting a machine-tooled asteroid or moon.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 25, 2022
New city rules are being proposed to allow for these digital ads, which planners say will be no brighter than the backlighted paper of existing ads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2022
Once a depopulated de Chirico landscape of decaying Art Deco structures backlighted by Technicolor skies, the city has finally lived up to its own overheated hype.
From New York Times ● Dec. 6, 2019
Not to be outdone, the “his” closet boasts backlighted shoe storage and rustic wood- and leather-clad interior walls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2017
He displays his toys on backlighted pedestals that wouldn’t look out of place in an Apple store.
From Time ● Sep. 9, 2013
There is a traditional steering wheel, knobs and levers, while the screens consist of so-called organic light-emitting diodes, which don’t require backlighting, to create a more analog feel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
Chloe Harmer, 20, used backlighting strips on her mirror in her uni room.
From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2026
In the case of “Dancing Through Life,” the heinous backlighting detracted from the majesty of the film’s practical set pieces in the same scene.
From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2025
To unveil the distribution of CO ice within this vast cloud, the researchers required intense backlighting from stars and hot gas.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2023
The sun had just gone down, and its afterglow was backlighting the city, which formed low cliffs around the bucolic void to the idle stockyards.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
Wright’s English subjects are, like his contemporary Edward Gibbon’s Romans, backlit by a skepticism whose coherence derives from the Enlightenment confidence in objective reason.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026
The property was “designed for luxurious living and unforgettable entertaining” thanks to its “soaring ceilings, intricate ironwork, natural stone accents, and dramatic statement features like a floor-to-ceiling backlit onyx fireplace,” according to the listing.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2025
Even the bathrooms are opulent in that uncanny, chain-restaurant way: part suburban shopping plaza, part Ancient Egyptian bathhouse, all backlit marble and echoing tile.
From Salon ● May 19, 2025
Gascón was brightly backlit and had knickknacks and a potted plant behind him as he spoke.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2024
The whole setup is faintly backlit by light filtering through grimy windows at the opposite end of the house.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
