foreground

[fawr-ground, fohr-]

See more synonyms for foreground on Thesaurus.com

noun

the ground or parts situated, or represented as situated, in the front; the portion of a scene nearest to the viewer (opposed to background).
a prominent or important position; forefront.

Origin of foreground

First recorded in 1685–95; fore- + ground¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for foreground

Contemporary Examples

Dan worked hard and made a good picture: mountains, timber, blue sky…and in the foreground a blond girl and a unicorn.
The Ballad of Johnny France
Richard Ben Cramer
January 12, 2014
Ladder 118 looks small on the Brooklyn Bridge; in the foreground both towers billow soot.
With the Fireman of Brooklyn’s Company 224 as They Observe the Fallen
Maurice Emerson Decaul
September 12, 2013
So of course, we start swimming toward it because I wanted the underwater camera guy to shoot me in the foreground of this shark.
Off the Hook: Eric Young’s Craziest Shark Catches (Video)
Anna Klassen
August 5, 2013
It never was until I started performing live myself that I had to be in the foreground.
Burt Bacharach: How I Write
Noah Charney
May 15, 2013
Foreground figures in “Street” are wildly out of focus, which is normally a feature that we only see in still photographs.
New York on Quaaludes
Blake Gopnik
April 23, 2013

Historical Examples

But this was not so startling as what it showed in the foreground.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
And the foreground—if the Little Doctor could get that, now, she would be doing something!
Chip, of the Flying U
B. M. Bower
For a long time Linda sat with poised pencil, studying her foreground.
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
He can give the effect of light and shade, brightness, foreground and background.
Albert Durer
T. Sturge Moore
But the exquisite drawing of the foreground is especially worthy of notice.
Modern Painters Volume I (of V)
John Ruskin

British Dictionary definitions for foreground

foreground

noun

the part of a scene situated towards the front or nearest to the viewer
the area of space in a perspective picture, depicted as nearest the viewer
a conspicuous or active position

verb

(tr) to emphasize (an issue, idea, or word)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for foreground

n.

1690s, in the landscape sense, from fore- + ground (n.). First used in English by Dryden ("Art of Painting"); cf. Dutch voorgrond.

foreground

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}foreground

Examples from the Web for foreground

Contemporary Examples

Dan worked hard and made a good picture: mountains, timber, blue sky…and in the foreground a blond girl and a unicorn.

Ladder 118 looks small on the Brooklyn Bridge; in the foreground both towers billow soot.

So of course, we start swimming toward it because I wanted the underwater camera guy to shoot me in the foreground of this shark.

It never was until I started performing live myself that I had to be in the foreground.

Foreground figures in “Street” are wildly out of focus, which is normally a feature that we only see in still photographs.

Historical Examples

But this was not so startling as what it showed in the foreground.

And the foreground—if the Little Doctor could get that, now, she would be doing something!

For a long time Linda sat with poised pencil, studying her foreground.

He can give the effect of light and shade, brightness, foreground and background.

But the exquisite drawing of the foreground is especially worthy of notice.

foreground

Word Origin and History for foreground

n.

Origin of foreground