backdrop
/ˈbæk.dɹɑp/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.58 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An image that serves as a visual background.
noun
The setting or background of an acted performance.
noun
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "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."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg-der.? Proto-Germanic *baką Proto-West Germanic *bak Old English bæc Middle English bak English back English drop English backdrop From back + drop.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbæk.dɹɑp/
- British English: /ˈbæk.dɹɒp/