background process
also: bg process, background job
A process that runs independently without occupying the terminal, allowing you to continue entering commands. Background processes execute asynchronously while you use the shell for other tasks.
A background process is any program running on a Linux system that doesn't require or hold control of your terminal input/output. Unlike foreground processes, which block the shell prompt until they finish, background processes run in parallel and let you continue working.
You start a process in the background by appending an ampersand (&) to the command. For example: ./my_script.sh & launches the script in the background and immediately returns a shell prompt. The system assigns it a job number and process ID (PID).
You can manage background processes with commands like jobs (list them), bg (resume a stopped one in background), and fg (bring one to the foreground). Many system daemons run as background processes continuously, like web servers or database services.