scheme

[ skeem ]
See synonyms for scheme on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a plan, design, or program of action to be followed; project.

  2. an underhand plot; intrigue.

  1. a visionary or impractical project.

  2. a body or system of related doctrines, theories, etc.: a scheme of philosophy.

  3. any system of correlated things, parts, etc., or the manner of its arrangement.

  4. a plan, program, or policy officially adopted and followed, as by a government or business: The company's pension scheme is very successful.

  5. an analytical or tabular statement.

  6. a diagram, map, or the like.

  7. an astrological diagram of the heavens.

verb (used with object),schemed, schem·ing.
  1. to devise as a scheme; conspire; plot; contrive.

verb (used without object),schemed, schem·ing.
  1. to lay schemes; devise plans; plot.

Origin of scheme

1
First recorded in1545–55; from Medieval Latin schēma (stem schēmat- ), from Greek schêma “form, figure”

synonym study For scheme

1, 6. See plan. 10. See plot.

Other words for scheme

Other words from scheme

  • scheme·less, adjective
  • schem·er, noun
  • out·scheme, verb (used with object), out·schemed, out·schem·ing.
  • sub·scheme, noun
  • un·der·scheme, noun
  • un·schemed, adjective

Words Nearby scheme

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use scheme in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for scheme

scheme

/ (skiːm) /


noun
  1. a systematic plan for a course of action

  2. a systematic arrangement of correlated parts; system

  1. a secret plot

  2. a visionary or unrealizable project

  3. a chart, diagram, or outline

  4. an astrological diagram giving the aspects of celestial bodies at a particular time

  5. mainly British a plan formally adopted by a commercial enterprise or governmental body, as for pensions, etc

  6. mainly Scot an area of housing that is laid out esp by a local authority; estate

verb
  1. (tr) to devise a system for

  2. to form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner

Origin of scheme

1
C16: from Latin schema, from Greek skhēma form

Derived forms of scheme

  • schemer, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with scheme

scheme

see best-laid plans (schemes).

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.