2 N‑VAR Fragrance is a pleasant-smelling liquid which people put on their bodies to make themselves smell nice. □ The advertisement is for a male fragrance.
fra|grant /fre I grənt/ ADJ Something that is fragrant has a pleasant, sweet smell. □ …fragrant oils and perfumes. □ [+ with ] The air was fragrant with the smell of orange blossoms.
frail /fre I l/ (frailer , frailest )
1 ADJ Someone who is frail is not very strong or healthy. □ She lay in bed looking particularly frail.
2 ADJ Something that is frail is easily broken or damaged. □ The frail craft rocked as he clambered in.
frail|ty /fre I lti/ (frailties )
1 N‑VAR If you refer to the frailties or frailty of people, you are referring to their weaknesses. □ [+ of ] …the frailties of human nature. □ …a triumph of will over human frailty.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Frailty is the condition of having poor health. □ She died after a long period of increasing frailty.
frame ◆◇◇ /fre I m/ (frames , framing , framed )
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 [usu pl] The frames of a pair of glasses are all the metal or plastic parts of it, but not the lenses. □ He was wearing new spectacles with gold wire frames.
4 N‑COUNT [oft poss N ] You can refer to someone's body as their frame , especially when you are describing the general shape of their body. □ 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 [usu passive] When a picture or photograph is framed , it is put in a frame. □ [be V -ed] The picture is now ready to be mounted and framed. □ [V -ed] On the wall is a large framed photograph.
7 VERB [usu passive] 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. □ [be V -ed prep] The swimming pool is framed by tropical gardens.
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 ] □ [V n] I need to find out who tried to frame me.
9 PHRASE If someone is in the frame for something such as a job or position, they are being considered for it. □ We need a win to keep us in the frame for the title.
10 → see also cold frame COLLOCATIONS frame NOUN
1
noun + frame : picture, photo
adjective + frame : carved, gilt, silver, wooden
2
noun + frame : bed, door, window; metal, steel, timber
adjective + frame : lightweight, rigid
4
adjective + frame : lanky, slender, slight, wiry; bulky, muscular, stocky
fra me of mi nd (frames of mind ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] Your frame of mind is the mood that you are in, which causes you to have a particular attitude to something. □ Lewis was not in the right frame of mind to continue.
fra me of re f|er|ence (frames of reference ) N‑COUNT A frame of reference is a particular set of beliefs or ideas on which you base your judgment of things. □ We know we're dealing with someone with a different frame of reference.
fra me-up (frame-ups ) N‑COUNT A frame-up is a situation where someone pretends that an innocent person has committed a crime by deliberately lying or inventing evidence. [INFORMAL ] □ He was innocent and the victim of a frame-up.
frame|work /fre I mwɜː r k/ (frameworks )
1 N‑COUNT [usu adj N ] A framework is a particular set of rules, ideas, or beliefs which you use in order to deal with problems or to decide what to do. □ [+ of ] … within the framework of federal regulations.
2 N‑COUNT A framework is a structure that forms a support or frame for something. □ …wooden shelves on a steel framework.
franc /fræ ŋk/ (francs ) N‑COUNT [num N ] The franc was the unit of money that was used in France and Belgium, before it was replaced by the euro. It is also the unit of currency in some other countries where French is spoken. □ The price of grapes had shot up to 32 francs a kilo. ● N‑SING The franc was used to refer to the currency systems of France and Belgium, before it was replaced by the euro. It is also used to refer to the currency systems of some other countries where French is spoken. □ …the sole manufacturer of the banknote paper for the Swiss franc.
fran|chise /fræ ntʃa I z/ (franchises , franchising , franchised )
1 N‑COUNT [oft n N , N n] A franchise is an authority that is given by an organization to someone, allowing them to sell its goods or services or to take part in an activity which the organization controls. [BUSINESS ] □ …fast-food franchises. □ Talk to other franchise holders and ask them what they think of the parent company.