foreground

American  

[fawr-graund] / ˈfɔrˌgraʊnd /

noun

• foregrounds
  plural

1. 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).

2. a prominent or important position; forefront.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to put in the foreground.

   The fact that the central character is Italian is not foregrounded.

foreground British  

/ ˈfɔːˌɡraʊnd /

noun

1. the part of a scene situated towards the front or nearest to the viewer

2. the area of space in a perspective picture, depicted as nearest the viewer

3. a conspicuous or active position

---

verb

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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• foregrounds
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of foreground

First recorded in 1685–95; fore- + ground ¹

---

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

foreground foregrounds

In that configuration, the gravity of the foreground black hole could have acted like a lens, bending light from the second jet behind it.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026

The piece’s hero image is Waters, sitting on a couch with what appears to be a toddler while, blurred in the foreground, a pair of baby feet dangle into the frame.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

In the foreground is the inviting backyard of a middle-class home: sunlit green grass, a tool shed, a picnic table, but no people.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

It’s part of a broader change in Nolan’s telling: His Odysseus has far fewer sexual entanglements than Homer’s, keeping his devotion to Penelope more firmly in the foreground.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

There’s probably a religious motif, though in the foreground something more immediate: money, the release of others jailed in some sinkhole for doing more or less the same thing these men are doing.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Brown’s dreamlike visions of the climate and uniquely structured scenes—often with barely there foregrounds that emphasize the abstracted weather surrounding them—owe much to his mentor Ray Yoshida, as well as to Joseph Yoakum.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

To that end, before “Welcome to Derry” resurfaces the internet’s favorite scary clown, it foregrounds the ways that small-town charm can be an effective mask for the mundane evils we confront every day.

From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2025

Fans of her club, which foregrounds Black female writers, will likely want to read about the authors who shaped this self-made literary titan.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2024

At the same time, many new diagnostic methods and early-intervention therapies have been developed in recent years, which foregrounds the need to identify more risk factors for the disease.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2023

The repeated “He,” has a sarcastic tone, and the hysteron proteron in the second sentence foregrounds this notion on which the argument turns: Is pride really a bad thing?

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• forefront

---