English Word Reference Free

schema

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

open dictionary

Access

Free

no sign-up needed

Detailed reference entry for the English word "schema", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "schema" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "schema" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

schema is aEnglishnoun. It means: An outline or image universally applicable to a general conception, under which it is likely to be presented to the mind (for example, a body schema). Pronounced /ˈskiːmə/. Often confused with Shea and Shem.

Key facts for schema
PropertyValue
Headwordschema
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈskiːmə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#24,581
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of schema in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for schema is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈskiːmə/. Corpus data places it at rank #24,581 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for schema, with forms such as "cshema", "scchema", and "scehma". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "Shea", "Shem", "Sheba", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from Latin schēma, from Ancient Greek σχῆμα (skhêma, “form, shape”). Doublet of scheme. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is schema, spelled S-C-H-E-M-A, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    An outline or image universally applicable to a general conception, under which it is likely to be presented to the mind (for example, a body schema).
  2. 2
    A formal description of the structure of a database: the names of the tables, the names of the columns of each table, and the data type and other attributes of each column.
  3. 3
    A formal description of data, data types, and data file structures, such as XML schemas for XML files.
  4. 4
    A formula in the metalanguage of an axiomatic system, in which one or more schematic variables appear, which stand for any term or subformula of the system, which may or may not be required to satisfy certain conditions.
  5. 5
    A monastic habit in the Greek Orthodox Church.

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin schēma, from Ancient Greek σχῆμα (skhêma, “form, shape”). Doublet of scheme.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: cshema,scchema,scehma,scheam,schemma,schhema,schmea,shcema,sschema

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for schema

Misspelling Variants of "schema"

cshema6scchema7scehma6scheam6schemma7schhema7schmea6shcema6
Misspelling Variants of "schema"

Frequency rank: #24,581 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "schema"?
"schema" is spelled S-C-H-E-M-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈskiːmə/.
What does "schema" mean?
As a noun, "schema" means: An outline or image universally applicable to a general conception, under which it is likely to be presented to the mind (for example, a body schema).
What words are commonly confused with "schema"?
"schema" is commonly confused with "Shea", "Shem", "Sheba". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "schema"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "schema" is /ˈskiːmə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "schema"?
Unadapted borrowing from Latin schēma, from Ancient Greek σχῆμα (skhêma, “form, shape”). Doublet of scheme. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter S in our English index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.