backdrop — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A decorated cloth hung at the back of a stage.

2. An image that serves as a visual background.

   Examples

   More examples (2)

   The president spoke outside the brick exterior of the firehouse for Ladder Company 10 and Engine Company 10, against the backdrop of a 56-foot-long bronze bas-relief depicting the towers in flames.

   Animated, seemingly varied crowd movement will place a game in the early 1990s, while static crowd backdrops and blocky, sprite-based athletes tend to point toward technology used in the 1980s.

   It's not the longest or tallest viaduct in Britain, but the landscape upon which it sits makes for a stunning backdrop.

3. The setting or background of an acted performance.

   Examples

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   Blackpool’s aggregate victory ensures Birmingham are now preparing for a potential summer of change. Manager Chris Hughton has been operating against a backdrop of financial uncertainty all season and last night Peter Pannu, the vice-chairman, announced that the club’s accounts would finally be published next week, and that a new investor had been identified.

   Specifically on the question of Article 8 considerations, the Court of Appeal expressed the view that it was difficult to see how a chief constable’s decision to disclose [the applicant’s charges to the employer] could ever be challenged (see paragraph 81 above). The Court observes that the case was decided against the backdrop of a clearly-defined legislative framework (i.e., the 1997 Act, which was in force in England and Wales at the time) which the court took to be in compliance with Article 8 (see paragraph 78 above).

   All of this heightened hyper-reaction to criticism plays out against a backdrop of dangerous moves by Israel and its supporters in the US to not only defame and politically punish critics and in some instances to go further by making criticism illegal.

4. Any background situation.

   Usage

   • Figurative

   Examples

   Against a backdrop of falling interest rates, the new savings account is looking less appealing.

   More examples (2)

   Against this backdrop, RDG said it needed to "review historic working practices so that the railway can respond to changing passenger needs and enable future growth".

   In its new round of cuts, the company hopes to “meaningfully accelerate our path to profitability even in the backdrop of the current crypto market,” the Winklevosses wrote in a blog post on Thursday.

Verb

1. To serve as a backdrop for.

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Examples

   a brilliant sunset backdropping the famous skyline

Noun

1. scenery hung at back of stage

   Synonyms

   backgroundbackcloth

   Broader terms

   sceneryscene