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• frame
  frame

  noun

  a border or case for enclosing a picture, mirror, etc.
• Frame
  Frame

  noun

  Janet . 1924–2004, and New Zealand writer: author of the novels Owls Do Cry (1957) and Faces in the Water (1961), the collection of verse The Pocket (1967), and volumes of autobiography including An Angel at My Table (1984), which was made into a film in 1990

frame

American  

[fraym] / freɪm /

noun

• frames
  plural

1. a border or case for enclosing a picture, mirror, etc.

2. a rigid structure formed of relatively slender pieces, joined so as to surround sizable empty spaces or nonstructural panels, and generally used as a major support in building or engineering works, machinery, furniture, etc.

3. a body, especially a human body, with reference to its size or build; physique.

   He has a large frame.

4. a structure for admitting or enclosing something.

   a window frame.

5. (used with a plural verb) Usually frames. the framework for a pair of eyeglasses.

6. form, constitution, or structure in general; system; order.

7. Movies. one of the successive pictures on a strip of film.

8. Television. a single traversal by the electron beam of all the scanning lines on a television screen. In the U.S. this is a total of 525 lines traversed in 1/30 (0.033) second.

9. Computers. the information or image on a screen or monitor at any one time.

10. Bowling.

    1. one of the ten divisions of a game.

    2. one of the squares on the scorecard, in which the score for a given frame is recorded.

11. Pool. rack.

12. Baseball. an inning.

13. Slang. a frame-up.

14. enclosing lines, usually forming a square or rectangle, to set off printed matter in a newspaper, magazine, or the like; a box.

15. the structural unit that supports the chassis of an automobile.

16. Nautical.

    1. any of a number of transverse, riblike members for supporting and stiffening the shell of each side of a hull.

    2. any of a number of longitudinal members running between web frames to support and stiffen the shell plating of a metal hull.

17. a machine or part of a machine supported by a framework, especially as used in textile production: spinning frame.

    drawing frame;

    spinning frame.

18. Printing. the workbench of a compositor, consisting of a cabinet, cupboards, bins, and drawers, and having flat and sloping work surfaces on top.

19. Bookbinding. an ornamental border, similar to a picture frame, stamped on the front cover of some books.

20. Shipbuilding. in frame, (of a hull) with all frames erected and ready for planking or plating.

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verb (used with object)

• frames,
  present (3rd person singular)
• framed,
  past participle,  past
• framing
  present participle

1. to form or make, as by fitting and uniting parts together; construct.

2. to contrive, devise, or compose, as a plan, law, or poem.

   to frame a new constitution.

3. to conceive or imagine, as an idea.

4. Informal. to incriminate (an innocent person) through the use of false evidence, information, etc.

5. to provide with or put into a frame, as a picture.

6. to give utterance to.

   Astonished, I attempted to frame adequate words of protest.

7. to form or seem to form (speech) with the lips, as if enunciating carefully.

8. to fashion or shape.

   to frame a bust from marble.

9. to shape or adapt to a particular purpose.

   to frame a reading list for ninth graders.

10. Informal. to contrive or prearrange fraudulently or falsely, as in a scheme or contest.

11. to adjust (film) in a motion-picture projector so as to secure exact correspondence of the outlines of the frame and aperture.

12. to line up visually in a viewfinder or sight.

13. Archaic. to direct, as one's steps.

verb (used without object)

• frames,
  present (3rd person singular)
• framed,
  past participle,  past
• framing
  present participle

1. Archaic. to betake oneself; resort.

2. Archaic. to prepare, attempt, give promise, or manage to do something.

idioms

1. frame of mind. see frame of mind.

frame ¹ British  

/ freɪm /

noun

1. an open structure that gives shape and support to something, such as the transverse stiffening ribs of a ship's hull or an aircraft's fuselage or the skeletal beams and uprights of a building

2. an enclosing case or border into which something is fitted

   the frame of a picture

3. the system around which something is built up

   the frame of government

4. the structure of the human body

5. a condition; state (esp in the phrase frame of mind )

6. 1. one of a series of individual exposures on a strip of film used in making motion pictures

   2. an individual exposure on a film used in still photography

   3. an individual picture in a comic strip

7. 1. a television picture scanned by one or more electron beams at a particular frequency

   2. the area of the picture so formed

8. billiards snooker

   1. the wooden triangle used to set up the balls

   2. the balls when set up

   3. US and Canadian equivalent (for senses 8a, 8b): rack. a single game finished when all the balls have been potted

9. computing (on a website) a self-contained section that functions independently from other parts; by using frames, a website designer can make some areas of a website remain constant while others change according to the choices made by the internet user

10. short for cold frame

11. one of the sections of which a beehive is composed, esp one designed to hold a honeycomb

12. a machine or part of a machine over which yarn is stretched in the production of textiles

13. (in language teaching, etc) a syntactic construction with a gap in it, used for assigning words to syntactic classes by seeing which words may fill the gap

14. statistics an enumeration of a population for the purposes of sampling, esp as the basis of a stratified sample

15. (in telecommunications, computers, etc) one cycle of a regularly recurring number of pulses in a pulse train

16. slang another word for frame-up

17. obsolete shape; form

18. likely to be awarded or to achieve

    I'm in the frame for the top job

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verb

1. to construct by fitting parts together

2. to draw up the plans or basic details for; outline

   to frame a policy

3. to compose, contrive, or conceive

   to frame a reply

4. to provide, support, or enclose with a frame

   to frame a picture

5. to form (words) with the lips, esp silently

6. slang to conspire to incriminate (someone) on a false charge

7. slang to contrive the dishonest outcome of (a contest, match, etc); rig

8. dialect (intr)

   1. (usually imperative or dependent imperative) to make an effort

   2. to have ability

Frame ² British  

/ freɪm /

noun

1. Janet . 1924–2004, and New Zealand writer: author of the novels Owls Do Cry (1957) and Faces in the Water (1961), the collection of verse The Pocket (1967), and volumes of autobiography including An Angel at My Table (1984), which was made into a film in 1990

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• framableness
  noun
• frameableness
  noun
• framer
  noun
• subframe
  noun
• unframableness
  noun
• unframeableness
  noun
• misframe
  verb
• deframe
  verb (used with object)
• reframe
  verb (used with object)
• framable
  adjective
• frameable
  adjective
• frameless
  adjective
• unframable
  adjective
• unframeable
  adjective
• unframed
  adjective
• well-framed
  adjective
• unframably
  adverb
• unframeably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• frames
  plural

Participles

• framing
  present
• framed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• frame
  simple
• frames
  simple
• have framed
  perfect
• has framed
  perfect
• am framing
  progressive
• are framing
  progressive
• is framing
  progressive
• have been framing
  perfect progressive
• has been framing
  perfect progressive

Past

• framed
  simple
• had framed
  perfect
• was framing
  progressive
• were framing
  progressive
• had been framing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will frame
  simple
• will have framed
  perfect
• will be framing
  progressive
• will have been framing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of frame

First recorded before 1000; 1910–15 frame for def. 7; 1920–25 frame for def. 24; (verb) Middle English framen “to prepare (timber),” Old English framian “to avail, profit”; cognate with Old Norse frama “to further,” Old High German (gi)framōn “to do”; (noun) Middle English, derivative of the verb

Explanation

A frame is a basic shape or structure, especially one that outlines or surrounds a door or window. If you slam your bedroom door hard enough, the whole frame might shake. When frame is a noun, it is usually some kind of enclosure or outline that is also a physical support — like the frame around a window, a bed frame, or a picture frame. One frozen image, or still, from a movie is another kind of frame. As a verb, to frame means both to enclose something in a frame, the way you frame a painting, and to make it look like an innocent person is guilty of something.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

frame Frame frames framed framing

State media kept those moments of physical caution out of the central frame.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Always in the same frame, they exude a preternatural comfort that extends beyond familial ties and speaks to their shared life paths.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

Gardner-Johnson stepped into frame and reeled in the interception, returning it 41 yards and igniting the crowd at the just-opened Highmark Stadium.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

After repeated attempts, the crew managed to capture just one take of the Jeep entering the frame.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

To achieve minimum weight, the designers had built the plane’s sleek frame of aluminum just 0.02 inches thick.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

But before we get into that hefty price tag, is the Steam Frame actually any good?

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

AI can be excellent "for visualising the voices of minorities who have struggled to cross the threshold of mainstream media", said the creator, who asked to use the pseudonym Tender Frame.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

Frame this as a challenge you want to help her overcome.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 25, 2026

A Chicago native, Runyon made her television debut as Sally Frame in the long-running soap opera “Another World.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2026

She looked at my mother and said, “There’s a union meeting next Wednesday at the church on Frame Street.”

From "Kira-Kira" by Cynthia Kadohata

Though I find his high-keyed color synthetic and cloying, a cruciform room frames Parrish’s work with the solemnity of a chapel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

The chart below features data from different time frames: For the Dow, the average figure includes every year back to 1897.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Others are placed onto table frames fixed to the ocean floor, and yet others are mounted onto plugs, screwed into a three-hole "cookie" and planted onto the reef.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

The UK "hardens stance on Israel" is how the Guardian frames the expected announcement on Tuesday.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Even her glasses had black frames instead of their usual red ones.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

Dismissing concerns over sweeping job losses on Monday, Rice framed the issue around international competition.

From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2026

A poster from the Gold Over America Tour, which Biles launched in September 2021 following the Tokyo Olympics, completes the trio of framed achievements.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

There is no shortage of articles, books, and social content aimed at curbing what is framed as a lack of discipline, often with a focus on self-help or weight management.

From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026

In a reel posted to Instagram, The Emmy-winning actor, 54, showed off her fresh do, with a blond blowout and layers that framed her smiling face.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

All the while Zita wore a smile on her open face, which was framed by straight light brown hair and dominated by thick, pink-rimmed glasses.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

“You’re invited to relax and entertain surrounded by a stately fireplace, regal archways and a row of leaded glass arched windows framing open-sky views,” the listing notes.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

There is something almost deliberately subversive about that framing.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

Cheng rejected the criticism, framing her approach as necessary to avoid conflict rather than a capitulation to Beijing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

Texas Democrats I’ve spoken to over the years have a way of framing O’Rourke’s 2018 Senate run as not only a highly impressive achievement … but also something they’re comfortable Monday-morning quarterbacking.

From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2026

“Yes, Master,” said Kreacher, bowing low again: Harry saw his lips moving soundlessly, undoubtedly framing the insults he was now forbidden to utter.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

Related Words

• concoct
• devise
• draw up
• formulate
• outline
• prepare
• shape
• sketch