I. ˈfrām verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English framien, framen to benefit, comfort, construct, from Old English framian, fromian to avail, benefit, make progress; akin to Old Frisian framia to carry out, further, Old Saxon gi framōn, Old Norse frama, all from a prehistoric West Germanic-North Germanic verb derived from a word represented by Old Norse fram forward — more at from
intransitive verb
1.
a. obsolete : to get on : fare
b. archaic : proceed , go
frame upstairs and make little din — Emily Brontë
2.
a. now dialect England : to show promise and adaptability
b. archaic : contrive , manage
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to prepare (wood) for a building (as by hewing out timbers)
2.
a. : plan , devise , contrive
the committee framed a new method of achieving their purpose
b. : to give expression to : formulate
frame a rule that brings order into our perceptions — Virginia Woolf
the specific problems … are still the persistent and central problems of philosophy, although perhaps not now framed in just his terminology — Alice Ambrose
the poignancy of the hero's failure is framed in the plaint of that ubiquitous figure of Italian life, the sorrowing mother — C.W.White
c. : shape , fashion , form
frame a figure out of clay
: make , construct
a series of questions so framed to involve by way of answer the plain alternative of yes or no — N.H.Snaith
d. : invent , fabricate
framed a series of new characters for a radio drama series
framed a device for eliminating rattles in a car
e. : conceive , imagine
could not frame the man in my mind from the inadequate description
f. : to make a draft of or draw up (as a law or constitution)
frame a plan for combating inflation — Current Biography
it was once my duty to frame a case against a manifest thief — R.W.Chapman
a subcommittee which framed the so-called tidelands oil bill — W.A.Clark
when the Bolsheviks' five-year plan was being framed — G.N.S.Raghavan
3. : to fit or adjust especially to something or for an end : regulate , arrange
and frame my face to all occasions — Shakespeare
the professional training is framed to teach the student what children are like at different stages — Choice of Careers: Local Gov't
he framed his model exordium to the middle-class youth in these words — Roy Lewis & Angus Maude
required to pass tests which are framed to be within the power of a normal girl at each stage of her growth — Girl Guiding & The Church
4. : to bring about : cause , produce
fear frames disorder and disorder wounds — Shakespeare
struggling to frame an alliance to secure southeast Asia — Benjamin Welles
5. archaic : to give direction to : start out on (a journey)
6. : to put together the frame of : construct by fitting and uniting the parts of the skeleton of (a structure)
framed a house at Steilacoom in 1860 and shipped it by steamer to be set up in the new settlement — American Guide Series: Washington
framed a boat in the cellar and completed it outside
specifically : to erect the frames of (a ship) on the building ways
7.
a. : utter , articulate
framed a reply in words as flattering as the question
b. : to form the mouth and lips into the form for uttering but without making a vocal sound
their lips frame the words, “We're pleased to see you” — Richard Harrison
tremulous lips framed an affirmative, but never uttered it — Zane Grey
8.
a. : to provide with a frame : enclose in a frame
frame a picture
also : to enclose as if in a frame
a face framed in a wealth of auburn hair
he had had the entire lobby framed, at a height of about 15 feet, by slender boxes of hanging ivy and various nondescript plants — Douglas Woolf
his eyes were framed above with unusually long eyelashes and below with the blue semicircle of ill health — Scott Fitzgerald
b. : to serve as a frame for
the window framed a view of the lake
9. : to run (crutched soap) into a frame to cool and solidify
10.
a. : to devise falsely (as a criminal charge against an innocent man)
frame a case against a neighbor to get rid of him
— often used with up
b. : to contrive the evidence against (an innocent man) so that a verdict of guilty is assured
many of the so-called anarchists … had been framed by courts and prosecutors — F.P.Adams
innocent women were frequently framed by a ring consisting of police officers, stool pigeons, bondsmen, and lawyers — Morris Ploscowe
c. : to prearrange (as a contest or an incrimination) so that a particular outcome is assured
the wrestling matches were framed
— often used with up
11. : to bring (a projected image) into register with the aperture of a motion-picture projector so that the horizontal frame line does not appear on the screen
Synonyms: see build , contrive
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from framien, framen, v.
1.
a. archaic : something composed of parts fitted together and united
b. archaic : building ; especially : a wooden building
c. : the form in which something is fashioned : system
a frame of government
how fine if we had an intimate theater … to produce certain works that call for a small frame — Howard Taubman
especially : the bodily structure : the physical construction or constitution : body , figure
he is distinctly, almost nobly handsome, with stalwart frame — S.H.Adams
sobs swept at intervals through her frame , shaking it — Arnold Bennett
d. archaic : a proper or correct form, order, or shape
before the hills in order stood, or earth received her frame — Isaac Watts
e. : a standardized form or shape
the artistry of a low comedian … stands out in splendid relief from the frame of a dull musical comedy — E.R.Bentley
the mock-heroic frame is intermittent — Austin Warren
2.
a. : the constructional system that gives shape or strength (as to a building) : an underlying structure or skeleton
his enormous weight broke the frame of the sofa
specifically : the arrangement of supporting girders, beams, columns, joists, or trusses forming the main support (as of a building)
the frame of the roof had begun to sag
b. : such a skeleton or outline not filled in or covered (as by the other constituents of the whole of which it is a part)
the fire left only the steel frame of the building standing
c. : a basic structural unit onto or into which other constituents of a whole are fitted, to which they attach, or with which they are integrated: as
(1) : the basic unit of a handgun which serves as a mounting for the barrel and operating parts of the arm — compare receiver
(2) : any of the skeleton structures forming the athwart ribs of a ship — see cant frame , square frame
(3) : airframe ; also : a structural piece supporting the longitudinal members or skin of the fuselage, float, or hull of an airplane
d. dialect : an emaciated person or animal : skeleton
3.
a. : an open case or structure made for admitting, enclosing, or supporting something (as one that encloses a window, door, or picture)
b. : something on, in, or across which something else is held or stretched: as
(1) archaic : loom 3
(2) : a machine built upon or within a framework and used especially in manufacture of yarn and textiles
a spinning frame
(3) : an adjustable structure of four bars forming an open square or rectangle for holding cloth (as for embroidery or quilting) — compare curtain stretcher
(4) : a rack used in carpet manufacturing for holding yarn packages used in the pile
c. : a foundry molding box or flask that being filled with sand around a pattern serves as a mold for castings
d. : the covered lattice structure used on the arms of a windmill
e. : the skeleton structure supporting the boiler and machinery of a locomotive upon its wheels or either of the two structures containing the axle boxes and supporting the upper part of an electric car
f. : a structural unit in an automobile chassis supported on the axles and supporting the rest of the chassis and the body
g. : the ribs and stretchers of an umbrella or similar structure with a fabric covering
h. : an openwork wooden structure usually enclosing a sheet of foundation placed in a beehive to encourage bees to build honeycomb in an orderly fashion
i. : a board for holding coins, medals, or stamps on exhibition
j. : a stand to support printers' type cases
k.
(1) : saw gate
(2) : a piece shaped like a yoke and resembling a saw gate
the frame of a micrometer
the frame of a C-clamp
1. : a large shallow rectangular metal pan having removable sides used for the cooling and solidifying of liquid soap in soap manufacture
m.
(1) : a part of a pair of glasses that holds one of the lenses
(2) frames plural : the constituent of a pair of glasses other than the lenses
4.
a. obsolete : the act of framing, constructing, or devising
b. archaic : the manner or method in which something is fashioned
5.
a. : a particular state or disposition (as of the mind)
left the shop in a very puzzled frame of mind — F.W.Crofts
b. archaic : attitude of mind : state of feeling : humor , mood
we have sent him to you in the best health and in the happiest frame — Charles Dickens
6.
a. : an enclosing usually rectangular and especially ornamental border or a physical limitation suggesting such a border:
(1) : a single line or an ornamental band bordering a stamp
(2) : the lines around boxed matter in a newspaper
(3) : the boundary of the gate of a motion-picture camera, printer, or projector
(4) : false proscenium
b. : the matter or area enclosed in such a border or as if in such a border: as
(1) : one of the squares in which scores for each round are recorded (as in bowling) ; also : a round in bowling
(2) : boxed matter in a newspaper ; especially : a box of a comic strip
(3) : one picture of the series on a length of motion-picture film or on a filmstrip or microfilm
(4) : a complete picture or image being transmitted by television
c. : a playing unit of a game (as an inning in baseball)
d. : an abstract set of limitations (as of circumstances or considerations) within which a thing or a group of things is contained, in relation to which they are unified, or within which they acquire a usually particular or a typical significance or expression : a limiting, typical, or especially appropriate set of circumstances
a joke that can be told … out of frame — James Burnham
within the frame of business-as-usual — New Republic
the frame of experience in which the American strategic problem in the atomic age is set — H.W.Baldwin
clinical studies carried on within the frame of our own society and culture — Ralph Linton
e. : an event or set of events or circumstances that form the background for the action of a novel or dramatic work
the main frame of action of the novel is the week of a false armistice in 1918 — Carvel Collins
f. : a literary device used in a story or dramatic work to bring together into a unity the matter of the story or drama or to provide a plausible excuse for relating or presenting it ; especially : such a device not essential to the story or dramatic action itself
the story uses a frame purporting to be told to the writer 20 years after the events
g. : a part of a syntactical or morphological linguistic construction that remains unchanged even though the remainder may be altered by the substitution of new items
7. : cold frame
8. slang : frame-up
9. : slate 3d
10. : a listing or other scheme in statistics for identification of the elementary sampling units that constitute a population
III. adjective
also framed -md
: having a wood frame
a frame building with brick siding
inexpensive frame houses
: having a frame (of a specified material)
a steel- frame office building
reinforced concrete frame construction
IV. noun
: a unit of programmed instruction calling for a response by the student