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
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the area of space in a perspective picture, depicted as nearest the viewer
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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.
In these events, the gravity of a foreground star and any accompanying planets magnifies the light of a more distant background star, briefly making it appear brighter.
From Science Daily • Jun. 1, 2026
On the sad and evocative ballad “Loneliest Girl,” she uses small pauses for rhythmic emphasis to foreground rhymes that complicate the action with each occurrence.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026
Faith, family, and national identity — long central themes — have moved from the background to the foreground.
From Salon • Apr. 18, 2026
And then I stumbled upon this car — the car that’s in the foreground of the painting.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026
The pillars in the background are made of wood; those in the foreground of brick and marble, symbolizing the progress of astronomy.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
