scheme
/skiːm/noun, verb
scheme is spelled S-C-H-E-M-E: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 37 times per million words in written English, the 2,618th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, scheme means “A representation of the aspects of the celestial bodies for any moment or at a given event” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of scheme is schemes.
How many letters and syllables are in scheme?
| Letters | 6: S-C-H-E-M-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 37 times per million words; the 2,618th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is scheme?
Scheme appears 37 times per million words in written English, the 2,618th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce scheme?
- /skiːm/
Scheme has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-scheme.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of scheme
- schemes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- scheming participle, present
- schemed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does scheme mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
obsoleteAn artful deviation from the ordinary arrangement of words.
- 2
A representation of the aspects of the celestial bodies for any moment or at a given event.
- 3
A systematic plan of future action.
- 4
A plot or secret, devious plan.
Her brain is continually fermenting new schemes.
- 5
An orderly combination of related parts.
- 6
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
- 7
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).
- 8
ScotlandUKcolloquialA council housing estate.
verb
- 1
To plot, or contrive a plan; to maneuver.
- 2
To plan; to contrive; to maneuver.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Scheme in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | plan , combine, machination , schéma , conspirer, tramer |
| German | Programm, Plan, Projekt , Intrige, Komplott, Scharade |
| Portuguese | planejamento, esquema |
| Spanish | ardid, artimaña, treta, urdimbre , esquema , tramar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does scheme come from?
From late Middle English scheame, from Medieval Latin schēma (“figure, form”), from Ancient Greek σχῆμα (skhêma, “form, shape”), from ἔχω (ékhō, “to hold”). Doublet of schema. Compare sketch.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).