backgrounder

noun

back·​ground·​er ˈbak-ˌ(g)rau̇n-dər 

1

: an off-the-record briefing for reporters

2

: something (such as an essay) that provides background information about a particular subject

She believes birds are the best model for understanding human language. But before making her argument, she offers a highly informative backgrounder on bird song.

—K. C. Cole

Examples of backgrounder in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That black helps make the shade a perfect backgrounder to leather, linen, alabaster and limestone, which are common accents in contemporary homes. — R. Daniel Foster, Forbes.com, 3 Feb. 2026

The rest of the cast is rounded out by the kind of quirky backgrounders who also populated Dunder Mifflin. — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025

Simon Hughes covered the sentencing hearing for The Athletic, and there was an air of finality about his extensive backgrounder. — Phil Hay, New York Times, 11 July 2025

This is a fab backgrounder by Laia Herrero on goalkeeper Diego Kochen — potentially the future of Barca and the USMNT. — Phil Hay, The Athletic, 1 Jan. 2025

Check out the video below from The Engineers Post for a more visual backgrounder! — New Atlas, 5 Dec. 2024

In fact, no small portion of the Royal Swedish Academy’s technical backgrounder (PDF) released to the media this morning could have been cribbed from this in-depth Spectrum consideration of nearly a quarter-century ago. — Tekla S. Perry, IEEE Spectrum, 4 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for backgrounder

• cofounder
• compounder
• expounder
• profounder
• flounder
• founder
• pounder
• rounder
• sounder