framework

Definitions

• (literally) A support structure comprising joined parts or conglomerated particles and intervening open spaces of similar or larger size.
• (literally) The arrangement of support beams that represent a building's general shape and size.
• (figuratively) The larger branches of a tree that determine its shape.
• (figuratively) A basic conceptual structure.
• (software engineering) A reusable piece of code (and, sometimes, other utilities) providing a standard environment within which an application can be implemented.
• (literally) The identification and categorisation of processes or steps that constitute a complex task or mindset in order to render explicit the tacit and implicit.