scheme
Americannoun
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schemes
plural
-
a plan, design, or program of action to be followed; project.
-
an underhand plot; intrigue.
- Synonyms:
- conspiracy, cabal, stratagem
-
a visionary or impractical project.
-
a body or system of related doctrines, theories, etc..
a scheme of philosophy.
-
any system of correlated things, parts, etc., or the manner of its arrangement.
-
a plan, program, or policy officially adopted and followed, as by a government or business.
The company's pension scheme is very successful.
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an analytical or tabular statement.
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a diagram, map, or the like.
-
an astrological diagram of the heavens.
verb (used with object)
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schemes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
schemed,
past participle, past
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scheming
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
schemes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
schemed,
past participle, past
-
scheming
present participle
noun
-
a systematic plan for a course of action
-
a systematic arrangement of correlated parts; system
-
a secret plot
-
a visionary or unrealizable project
-
a chart, diagram, or outline
-
an astrological diagram giving the aspects of celestial bodies at a particular time
-
a plan formally adopted by a commercial enterprise or governmental body, as for pensions, etc
-
an area of housing that is laid out esp by a local authority; estate
verb
-
(tr) to devise a system for
-
to form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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schemernoun
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subschemenoun
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underschemenoun
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outschemeverb (used with object)
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schemelessadjective
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unschemedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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schemesimple
-
schemessimple
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have schemedperfect
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has schemedperfect
-
am schemingprogressive
-
are schemingprogressive
-
is schemingprogressive
-
have been schemingperfect progressive
-
has been schemingperfect progressive
Past
-
schemedsimple
-
had schemedperfect
-
was schemingprogressive
-
were schemingprogressive
-
had been schemingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scheme
First recorded in 1545–55; from Medieval Latin schēma (stem schēmat- ), from Greek schêma “form, figure”
Explanation
A scheme is an elaborate plan or plot. It's going to take a really solid scheme, probably involving teleportation or some sort of temporary cloning, to make an appearance at both parties at once. Scheme comes to us from the Latin word for "figure." And it's still used today to refer to a set of drawings and figures used to map out something. Or maybe you’ve heard people talk about something in the scheme of life." In that case they're talking about something that fits into the bigger picture. But don't forget that schemes often carry a negative connotation — the word brings to mind devious plans and secret plots organized by scheming bad guys.
Vocabulary lists containing scheme
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"The Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Teams are put in place to ensure the comedian can focus on generating jokes while they scheme new ways to metastasize its distribution and justify their own salaries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Prosecutors have issued 33 arrest warrants against customs officers and employees of the National Environment Agency over their alleged involvement in the scheme.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Asked about the possibility of Britain being kept out of the scheme, Lescure said: "Come back, and you'll be at the table, and we discuss all these things together."
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
A former transport minister in June was sentenced to 24 years in prison for a pandemic-era corruption scheme.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
But when I had told him about Shanghai Chic—leaving out the part about modeling—he’d been pleased with the scheme to rent pieces to Formann’s.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Two weeks later, Jaguar's denim-clad design chief Gerry McGovern took to a Miami stage to unveil a pair of radical concept cars, resplendent in Miami Pink and London Blue colour schemes.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
The state estimate it loses millions of dollars annually because of such schemes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Perhaps the mayor will now muster some sympathy for businesses mugged in similar schemes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Although Cousins is in the twilight of his career, he has thrown a league-high nine touchdown passes, thriving in a system that emphasizes play action schemes and quickly diagnosing coverages, two areas where Cousins excels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
‘I had a good reason for that! At any rate, now Zeus blames me for everything - Octavian’s schemes, the fall of Delphi -’ ‘Wait.’
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
He schemed to get an imported copy seized by customs to trigger a court case over its content.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
Afforded extra space by his manager's decision to play Jack Grealish alongside him in a central position, De Bruyne schemed in the way he usually does.
From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2024
City-states, hoping to win civic glory, sometimes schemed to bribe top athletes to falsely claim that city as their own.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2024
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy schemed against Stafford for 10 seasons when McCarthy coached the Green Bay Packers and Stafford played for the Lions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2023
It didn’t look like anything special, but it was manned by the Stoll brothers, and I shuddered to think what dirty tricks they’d schemed up.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
"I know what I did, I know what we did, and I know how it happened. It didn't feel like we were scheming or plotting."
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
What are rising mortgage rates and utility bills when you’ve been neutralized by some bioweapon engineered by a collective of scheming AI agents, recursively self-improving their way to planetary domination?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Hardly the smoking gun that puts him in an Afghan cave, scheming with Osama bin Laden.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
It could be argued Tielemans' arrival addresses an issue Manchester United have had since Carrick quit in 2018; the scheming midfielder with an eye for a pass, who can break a defensive line.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
‘That was true then. But those days are over, thanks to Hera’s scheming.’
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
