foreground
Americannoun
-
the ground or parts situated, or represented as situated, in the front; the portion of a scene or picture nearest to the viewer (opposed to background).
-
a prominent or important position; forefront.
verb (used with object)
noun
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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
Etymology
Origin of foreground
Explanation
When you're watching a movie, you can describe what's happening up close to the camera as being in the foreground. The foreground is the opposite of the background, which is the part of a photograph, painting, or scene that's farthest away from you. Some photographers tend to focus sharply on the foreground while letting the rest of the picture go blurry. The noun foreground was first used specifically for talking about painting, and it came from fore, "before" or "in front," and ground, or "foundation."
Vocabulary lists containing foreground
Power Prefix: fore-
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "E" and "F"
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Close Reading: The Art and Craft of Rhetorical Analysis (Chapter 2)
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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.
As the supernova's light travels toward Earth, it passes by two galaxies in the foreground.
From Science Daily • Apr. 29, 2026
“Across the Ages” reveals a culture—omnivorous, regenerative, endlessly adaptable—whose dynamic abstract artworks resist any fixed sense of beginning or end, above or below, foreground or background.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026
During one orbit, Anders captured Earth's brilliant blue hue standing out against the vast darkness of space and accentuated by the desolate, grey lunar horizon in the foreground.
From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026
Visitors view other butterflies behind an owl butterfly, foreground.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2026
Maybe he simply wanted what any newcomer like him wanted and would will for himself, a broader foreground from which he might naturally emerge.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
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.
