frame
( frames plural & 3rd person present) ( framing present participle) ( framed past tense & past participle )
1 n-count The frame of a picture or mirror is the wood, metal, or plastic that is fitted around it, especially when it is displayed or hung on a wall.
Estelle kept a photograph of her mother in a silver frame on the kitchen mantelpiece., ...a pair of picture frames.
2 n-count The frame of an object such as a building, chair, or window is the arrangement of wooden, metal, or plastic bars between which other material is fitted, and which give the object its strength and shape.
He supplied housebuilders with modern timber frames..., We painted our table to match the window frame in the bedroom.
3 n-count The frames of a pair of glasses are all the metal or plastic parts of it, but not the lenses.
usu pl
He was wearing new spectacles with gold wire frames.
4 n-count You can refer to someone's body as their frame, especially when you are describing the general shape of their body.
oft poss N
Their belts are pulled tight against their bony frames.
5 n-count A frame of cinema film is one of the many separate photographs that it consists of.
Standard 8mm projects at 16 frames per second.
6 verb When a picture or photograph is framed, it is put in a frame.
usu passive
The picture is now ready to be mounted and framed... be V-ed
On the wall is a large framed photograph. V-ed
7 verb If an object is framed by a particular thing, it is surrounded by that thing in a way that makes the object more striking or attractive to look at.
usu passive
The swimming pool is framed by tropical gardens... be V-ed prep
8 verb If someone frames an innocent person, they make other people think that that person is guilty of a crime, by lying or inventing evidence.
INFORMAL I need to find out who tried to frame me... V n
9 If someone is in the framefor something such as a job or position, they are being considered for it.
♦
in the frame phrase
(=in the running)
We need a win to keep us in the frame for the title.
climbing frame ( climbing frames plural ) A climbing frame is a structure that has been made for children to climb and play on. It consists of metal or wooden bars joined together.
(BRIT) n-count
in AM, use jungle gym
cold frame ( cold frames plural ) A cold frame is a wooden frame with a glass top in which you grow small plants to protect them from cold weather. n-count
frame of mind ( frames of mind plural ) Your frame of mind is the mood that you are in, which causes you to have a particular attitude to something. n-count usu sing, with supp
Lewis was not in the right frame of mind to continue.
frame of reference ( frames of reference plural ) A frame of reference is a particular set of beliefs or ideas on which you base your judgment of things. n-count usu with supp
We know we're dealing with someone with a different frame of reference.
frame-up ( frame-ups plural ) A frame-up is a situation where someone pretends that an innocent person has committed a crime by deliberately lying or inventing evidence.
INFORMAL n-count
He was innocent and the victim of a frame-up.
freeze-frame ( freeze-frames plural ) A freeze-frame from a film is an individual picture from it, produced by stopping the film or video tape at that point. n-count
time frame ( time frames plural ) The time frame of an event is the length of time during which it happens or develops.
FORMAL n-count
(=timescale)
The time frame within which all this occurred was from September 1985 to March 1986...
window frame ( window frames plural ) A window frame is a frame around the edges of a window, which glass is fixed into. n-count
Zimmer frame ( Zimmer frames plural ) A Zimmer frame or a Zimmer is a frame that old or ill people sometimes use to help them walk.
(BRIT) ®
n-count
in AM, use walker