scheme
Americannoun
-
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
-
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
-
subschemenoun
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underschemenoun
-
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
-
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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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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:
Across the U.K., only one in 10 cars sold under the scheme are modified for a disability.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
A banged-up Broncos secondary is more inviting to Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who has struggled to find his rhythm in the scheme of new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
Now, 18 years later, it has emerged that the club was at the heart of the largest cheating scheme in English soccer history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
But Norwich Apex Data Centre has defended the scheme, claiming assessments showed it would not harm protected areas like Marston Marshes.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Samson had planned the scheme, thinking that he could easily defeat his friend and make him go back home.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
"There's no simple 'with AI' or 'without AI'," he said at the book fair, adding that basic schemes to categorise how much AI was used to produce a title could fall short.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Several labelling schemes, including from Britain, France and Germany, were being showcased at the world's biggest book industry fair in Frankfurt this week, where the challenges posed by AI were hotly debated.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
All these cost money, and there are government schemes to support them.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Perhaps the mayor will now muster some sympathy for businesses mugged in similar schemes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Lord Dunmore did not speak at first, simply listening to his guests before unfolding his own schemes and views.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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
Murdaugh introduced Satterfield’s sons to Cory Fleming, a fellow lawyer, who represented them in the case and schemed with Murdaugh to collect on his homeowner’s insurance policies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2025
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
They leaped and schemed escapes, producing doors from air.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Elsewhere on the front page, two contestants from this season of the Celebrity Traitors, Maya Jama and Richard E Grant, are pictured scheming in their iconic green cloaks.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
"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
Instead of scheming to hack a company, a swarm with as many as 10,000 agents hacked away at math for 88 hours, building on each other’s work—and the work of humans—until they reached a solution.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
There unfolds a somewhat Wodehousian investigation involving undercover spies and scheming holdovers from Oswald Mosley’s disgraced fascist party.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
John Garrett was sure the men were scheming to steal their horses in the middle of the night.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
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.
