foreground

[ fawr-ground, fohr- ]

/ ˈfɔrˌgraʊnd, ˈfoʊr- /

SEE 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.

Words nearby foreground

forego, foregoing, foregone, foregone conclusion, foregone conclusion, a, foreground, foregut, forehand, forehanded, forehead, forehearth

Origin of foreground

First recorded in 1685–95; fore- + ground¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for foreground

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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
All that eventful day our story began with had leaped into the foreground of his mind.
Somehow Good|William de Morgan
Was it not the sensuous side of her nature that had been touched, while the rest had been posing in the foreground?
The Daughters of Danaus|Mona Caird
In the foreground a wooden shanty, a broom by the door with a ramshorn hanging from its handle.
The Road to Damascus|August Strindberg
But there was a wicked gleam in the eye of the footsore young man in the foreground.
Last of the Great Scouts|Helen Cody Wetmore
The thickness of outline on the light side of this vase unfinishes the foreground.
Dickens and His Illustrators|Frederic G. Kitton

British Dictionary definitions for foreground

foreground

/ (ˈfɔːˌɡraʊnd) /

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

foreground

noun

Words related to foreground

Words nearby foreground

Origin of foreground

Examples from the Web for foreground

British Dictionary definitions for foreground

noun

verb