framework

American  

[fraym-wurk] / ˈfreɪmˌwɜrk /

noun

• frameworks
  plural

1. 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.

2. a skeletal structure designed to support or enclose something.

3. a frame or structure composed of parts fitted and joined together.

4. the construction of frames.

5. work done in, on, or with a frame.

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framework British  

/ ˈfreɪmˌwɜːk /

noun

1. a structural plan or basis of a project

2. a structure or frame supporting or containing something

3. frames collectively

4. work such as embroidery or weaving done in or on a frame

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underframework
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• frameworks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of framework

First recorded in 1635–45; frame + work

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

framework frameworks

“A fund’s benchmark should give you a sense of the risk framework the manager’s going to invest in,” says Mary Ellen Stanek, a veteran fixed-income investor and president of the Baird group of bond funds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

The US Senate approved a landmark federal framework for college sports Monday, voting 72-22 to bring order to a multibillion-dollar industry whose biggest events can draw television audiences comparable to major professional championships.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

Meanwhile, unlike the podcast, “I Want to Be Famous” gives the hosts ample room to go deeper into the cultural framework of modern celebrity than they normally have time for.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

That work had helped them develop a broader framework for understanding how natural gas forms.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

Zero had no place within the Pythagorean framework.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Yet, the technology underpinning autonomous warfare risks outpacing the Russian and Ukrainian frameworks for maintaining some degree of human control over weapons.

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026

Periods in which existing theories struggled to explain observations have sometimes led to radically new frameworks, including Einstein's theory of relativity.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

The focus now shifts to federal regulators who are working on their own frameworks to develop industry regulation and have expressed their willingness to accommodate crypto products in the mainstream financial system.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

"I don't want to say there's not enough regulation, because in Europe we regulate a lot, and I think more frameworks should be introduced to prevent abuse, or us losing control over it."

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

Pedagogically Sound: Including multiple perspectives and views on material not only enriches the curriculum content, but also provides radically different frameworks and paradigms to students on content.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

• groundwork
• plan
• scheme
• structure