framework
Americannoun
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a basic structure, plan, or system, as of concepts, values, customs, or rules: The empire foundered, leaving its people in anarchy and lawlessness, as the framework of their society and culture collapsed around them.
The bill, if passed, will provide a legal framework for privacy and data protection.
The empire foundered, leaving its people in anarchy and lawlessness, as the framework of their society and culture collapsed around them.
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a skeletal structure designed to support or enclose something.
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a frame or structure composed of parts fitted and joined together.
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the construction of frames.
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work done in, on, or with a frame.
noun
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a structural plan or basis of a project
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a structure or frame supporting or containing something
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frames collectively
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work such as embroidery or weaving done in or on a frame
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of framework
Explanation
Framework refers to the initial structure of a building. If you ever wanted to walk through walls, you can get your chance when a new house has just the framework done, because the house will have walls with openings for windows and doors but no plaster or siding. From the literal meaning of framework — the initial structure of a building — English added figurative meanings. The noun framework, for example, can be any underlying structure something is built on, so you will see examples like: a framework for solving the problem, a framework for the computer program, and a framework for a new relationship.
Vocabulary lists containing framework
The Scientific Method
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The ACT Science Test: The Scientific Method
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Scientific Investigation and Reasoning
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Critics say the domestic legal framework is not sufficient.
From Slate • May 27, 2026
The government has said it expects a new commonhold framework to be operating well before the end of the Parliament.
From BBC • May 26, 2026
News reports indicate the deal framework would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, allowing Persian Gulf crude to resume flowing through the waterway.
From MarketWatch • May 26, 2026
The rules and features of each are a lot for sleep-starved parents to untangle, but financial advisers have a general framework to help parents.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026
Working on a perfectly straight I beam more than sixty feet long, he constructed a delicate framework of spruce and northern ash.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
