framework

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

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

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

4. (figuratively) A basic conceptual structure.Examples: "These ‘three principles of connexion’ compose the framework of principles in Hume's account of the association of ideas."; "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."figuratively

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

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