context

B1 · Intermediate Uncountable noun Linguistics Academic

n. the words that come before and after a specific word and help explain its meaning.

n. the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect.

“If you don't know what a word means, try to guess it from the context of the sentence.”

“The critic was accused of quoting the author out of context to make the book seem more controversial than it actually was.”

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Archaeology Technical

n. the exact place and surroundings where an old object is found by experts.

n. the relationship that an artifact has to all the other artifacts and features found in the same archaeological site.

“When the vase was moved, it lost its context, making it harder for experts to date it.”

“The primary context of the burial site remained undisturbed, allowing researchers to map the precise placement of the ritual offerings.”

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Computing Technical

n. the data or settings a computer needs to finish a specific task or switch between jobs.

n. the minimal set of data used by a task that must be saved to allow a task interruption and a continuation from the same point.

“The application stores the user's context so they can continue where they left off.”

“Frequent context switching between threads can significantly degrade the performance of the operating system due to the overhead involved.”