Meaning & use
picture frame
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Meaning
nouncountable
A stiff border, often wood or metal, that holds a picture or photograph so it can be hung or stood up.
Grammar: Countable: a picture frame, two picture frames. Use 'in a frame' for the finished object.
Patterns
- a picture frame for something
- put something in a picture frame
- hang a picture frame on the wall
She bought a wooden picture frame for the old family photo.
The picture frame fell off the wall and the glass broke.
He makes picture frames as a hobby and sells them online.
Word forms
| plural | picture frames |
|---|
Common combinations
- wooden picture frame
- A wooden picture frame looks warm against a plain wall.
- put a photo in a picture frame
- I put the wedding photo in a picture frame and gave it to my mother.
- hang a picture frame
- We hung a picture frame above the sofa.
- a picture frame on the wall
- There is a picture frame on the wall next to the door.
Synonyms and how they differ
- frame
- Shorter and more general; use 'picture frame' when you need to be clear it holds a picture, not a window or a bicycle.
- photo frame
- Very close, but usually suggests a small frame for a photograph rather than a painting.
Word family
Commonly confused: picture frame or framework?
picture frame vs framework
A framework is a supporting structure or a set of ideas, not an object that holds a picture.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'picture frame' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The photo goes inside the frame, and the frame hangs on the wall. Option 2 reverses the objects, and options 3 and 4 make the photo the thing that hangs on the wall.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “picture frame”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.