framework — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A support structure comprising joined parts or conglomerated particles and intervening open spaces of similar or larger size.

   Usage

   • literally

2. The arrangement of support beams that represent a building's general shape and size.

   Usage

   • literally

   Synonyms

   ossature

3. The larger branches of a tree that determine its shape.

   Usage

   • Figurative

4. A basic conceptual structure.

   Usage

   • Figurative

   Examples

   These ‘three principles of connexion’ compose the framework of principles in Hume's account of the association of ideas.

   More examples (1)

   He draws eclectically on studies of baboons, descriptive anthropological accounts of hunter-gatherer societies and, in a few cases, the fossil record. With this biological framework in place, Corning endeavors to show that the capitalist system as currently practiced in the United States and elsewhere is manifestly unfair.

5. A reusable piece of code (and, sometimes, other utilities) providing a standard environment within which an application can be implemented.

6. An established and structured system of rules and principles used for analyzing and describing the structure of a language.

Noun

1. a hypothetical description of a complex entity or process

   Synonyms

   modeltheoretical account

   Broader terms

   hypothesispossibilitytheory

   Examples

   the computer program was based on a model of the circulatory and respiratory systems

2. the underlying structure

   Synonyms

   fabric

   Broader terms

   structure

   Examples

   providing a factual framework for future research

   it is part of the fabric of society

3. a structure supporting or containing something

   Synonyms

   frame

   Broader terms

   supporting structure