frame-up
Americannoun
noun
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a conspiracy to incriminate someone on a false charge
-
a plot to bring about a dishonest result, as in a contest
Etymology
Origin of frame-up
1895–1900, frame + up, modeled on nominalizations of phrasal verbs, with up as perfective particle
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.
"The police were highly selective in the way they collected evidence. In my opinion, Omar was framed. This was a quite elaborate frame-up," he said.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
Golunov was arrested in a clumsy frame-up after his exposés of corruption among the Moscow elite made him too many enemies.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 20, 2019
Alternate explanations are propounded, including the possibility of an elaborate police frame-up.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2019
The easily solved Wayne case was a frame-up, naturally, but the revelation that Bullock was in on it surprised me.
From New York Times ● Sep. 22, 2014
"If the frame-up goes wrong, what'll win?" asked the Kid.
From Old Man Curry Race Track Stories by Charles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan
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.
