What does "scheme" mean?
An artful deviation from the ordinary arrangement of words.
Scheme
/skiːm/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An artful deviation from the ordinary arrangement of words.
- Grammar: scheme is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: intrigue, a project, abstract framework, action.
- Useful contrasts: candor, chaos, disclose.
- Usage evidence: Your scheme is like a house built on the sand.
How to use "scheme"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "scheme" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "scheme" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "scheme" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "scheme" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "scheme" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "intrigue" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "scheme", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An artful deviation from the ordinary arrangement of words. obsolete, rhetoric
- 2 a schematic or preliminary plan wordnet
- 3 A representation of the aspects of the celestial bodies for any moment or at a given event.
"a blue case, from which was drawn a scheme of nativity"
- 4 an elaborate and systematic plan of action wordnet
- 5 A systematic plan of future action.
"The stoical scheme of supplying our wants by lopping off our desires, is like cutting off our feet when we want shoes."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 an internal representation of the world; an organization of concepts and actions that can be revised by new information about the world wordnet
- 7 A plot or secret, devious plan.
- 8 a statement that evades the question by cleverness or trickery wordnet
- 9 An orderly combination of related parts.
"the appearance and outward scheme of things"
- 10 a group of independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole wordnet
- 11 A chart or diagram of a system or object.
"April 29, 1694, Robert South, A Sermon Preached at Westminster Abbey to draw an exact scheme of Constantinople, or a map of France"
- 12 A mathematical structure that generalizes the notion of an algebraic variety in several ways, such as taking account of multiplicities and allowing "varieties" defined over any commutative ring. Formally, a locally ringed space that admits a covering by open sets, each of which is isomorphic to an affine scheme (i.e. the spectrum of some commutative ring).
- 13 A council housing estate. Scotland, UK, colloquial
"It was all too dear. They all just put their prices up because it was out in the scheme."
- 14 Part of a uniform resource identifier indicating the protocol or other purpose, such as http: or news:. Internet
- 15 A portfolio of pension plans with related benefits comprising multiple independent members. UK
Verb
- 1 To plot, or contrive a plan; to manuever. intransitive
"Laura snatches coins from inside a truck to make a telephone call, scrounges shoes and clothes for them at a municipal beach, schemes to get a room key so she and Howie can sleep overnight in the Starlight Motel, steals a Jeepster from a deputy sheriff who's trying to arrest them."
- 2 form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner wordnet
- 3 To plan; to contrive; to manuever. transitive
"He schemed a plot. He made use of the hotel's stationery to write a letter."
- 4 devise a system or form a scheme for wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A programming language, one of the two major dialects of Lisp.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Your scheme is like a house built on the sand."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "scheme"?
Common synonyms include: intrigue, a project, abstract framework, action, aim, anagnorisis.
How do you use "scheme" in a sentence?
Your scheme is like a house built on the sand.
How do you pronounce "scheme"?
Pronounced /skiːm/.
Etymology
From late Middle English scheame, from Medieval Latin schēma (“figure, form”), from Ancient Greek σχῆμα (skhêma, “form, shape”), from ἔχω (ékhō, “I hold”). Doublet of schema. Compare sketch.