scheme

[ skeem ]

/ skim /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR scheme ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a plan, design, or program of action to be followed; project.

an underhand plot; intrigue.

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.

an analytical or tabular statement.

a diagram, map, or the like.

an astrological diagram of the heavens.

verb (used with object), schemed, schem·ing.

to devise as a scheme; plan; plot; contrive.

verb (used without object), schemed, schem·ing.

to lay schemes; devise plans; plot.

RELATED WORDS

rogue, rascal, deceiver, scammer

Nearby words

schema, schemata, schematic, schematism, schematize, scheme, schemer, schemie, scheming, schemingly, schenectady

Origin of scheme

1545–55; < Medieval Latin schēma (stem schēmat-) < Greek schêma form, figure

SYNONYMS FOR scheme

2 stratagem, cabal, conspiracy.

5 pattern, schema.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR scheme ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

scheme·less, adjectiveschem·er, nounout·scheme, verb (used with object), out·schemed, out·schem·ing.sub·scheme, noun

un·der·scheme, nounun·schemed, adjective

Synonym study

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for schemer

Is that mass of cream cheese you put on a bagel a schemer or a shmeer?
Mazel Tov, Arvind! But Are You Sure It’s Not Kneydl?|Daniel Gross|May 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And, second, how can he bust a drug dealer and a Ponzi schemer without endangering Rita and Mitzi?
Do I Have to Read Kisser?|William Boot|February 13, 2010|DAILY BEAST
In the strange case of alleged Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford, a new bit player has emerged.
God and Ponzi|Max Blumenthal|February 19, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Mr Bellamy, in his turn, conducted himself towards the schemer with much cordiality and kindness.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 54, No. 338, December 1843|Various

She felt herself a schemer, an intriguer, which she was not.
Coquette|Frank Swinnerton
Then as the schemer remained silent he demanded, frowning darkly, "What's Loralindy Byars got ter do with it?"
A Chilhowee Lily|Charles Egbert Craddock (AKA Mary Noailles Murfree)
About the time the above conversation took place another "schemer" arrived, and was located a few beds from me.
Six Years in the Prisons of England|A Merchant - Anonymous
Dan Coughlin, the schemer and originator, had put O'Sullivan into a notion of doing something that he had never thought of before.
The Crime of the Century|Henry M. Hunt

British Dictionary definitions for schemer

scheme

/ (skiːm) /

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

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

mainly Scot 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

Derived Formsschemer, noun

Word Origin for scheme

C16: from Latin schema, from Greek skhēma form

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

Word Origin and History for schemer (1 of 3)

schemer

1724, "a contriver, plotter," agent noun from scheme (v.).

Word Origin and History for schemer (1 of 3)

scheme

1550s, "figure of speech," from Medieval Latin schema "shape, figure, form, appearance; figure of speech; posture in dancing," from Greek skhema (genitive skhematos) "figure, appearance, the nature of a thing," related to skhein "to get," and ekhein "to have," from PIE root *segh- "to hold, to hold in one's power, to have" (cf. Sanskrit sahate "he masters, overcomes," sahah "power, victory;" Avestan hazah "power, victory;" Greek ekhein "to have, hold;" Gothic sigis, Old High German sigu, Old Norse sigr, Old English sige "victory").

The sense "program of action" first is attested 1640s. Unfavorable overtones (selfish, devious) began to creep in early 18c. Meaning "complex unity of coordinated component elements" is from 1736. Color scheme is attested from 1884.

Word Origin and History for schemer (2 of 3)

scheme

"devise a scheme," 1767 (earlier "reduce to a scheme," 1716), from scheme (n.). Related: Schemed; scheming.

Idioms and Phrases with schemer

scheme

see best-laid plans (schemes).

scheme

.css-1gxch3{color:#1a1a1a;font-size:18px;font-weight:normal;font-style:italic;}noun

verb (used without object), schemed, schem·ing.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of scheme

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for schemer

British Dictionary definitions for.css-ylq2vz{color:#1a1a1a;} schemer

scheme

noun

verb

Word Origin for scheme

Word Origin and History for schemer (1 of 3)

schemer

Word Origin and History for schemer (1 of 3)

scheme

Word Origin and History for schemer (2 of 3)

scheme

Idioms and Phrases with schemer

scheme

noun

British Dictionary definitions for schemer