scheme
   [skeem] noun, verb, schemed, schem·ing.
–noun
1. a plan, design, or program of action to be followed; project.
2. an underhand plot; intrigue.
3. a visionary or impractical project.
4. a body or system of related doctrines, theories, etc.: a scheme of philosophy.
5. any system of correlated things, parts, etc., or the manner of its arrangement.
6. a plan, program, or policy officially adopted and followed, as by a government or business: The company's pension scheme is very successful.
7. an analytical or tabular statement.
8. a diagram, map, or the like.
9. an astrological diagram of the heavens.
–verb (used with object)
10. to devise as a scheme; plan; plot; contrive.
–verb (used without object)
11. to lay schemes; devise plans; plot.

Origin:
1545–55;  < ML schēma  (s. schēmat- ) < Gk schêma  form, figure

—Related forms
schemeless, adjective
schemer, noun
outscheme, verb (used with object), -schemed, -schem·ing.
subscheme, noun
un·der·scheme, noun
un·schemed, adjective

—Synonyms
1, 6. See plan. 2.  stratagem, cabal, conspiracy. 5.  pattern, schema. 10. See plot1 .

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.

Related Words for : scheme
strategy, connive, intrigue, dodge, dodging

World English Dictionary
scheme  (skiːm) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
— n
1.     a systematic plan for a course of action
2.     a systematic arrangement of correlated parts; system
3.     a secret plot
4.     a visionary or unrealizable project
5.     a chart, diagram, or outline
6.     an astrological diagram giving the aspects of celestial bodies at a particular time
7.     chiefly  ( Brit ) a plan formally adopted by a commercial enterprise or governmental body, as for pensions, etc
8.     chiefly  ( Scot ) an area of housing that is laid out esp by a local authority; estate
 
— vb
9.     ( tr ) to devise a system for
10.     to form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner
 
[C16: from Latin schema,  from Greek skhēma  form]
 
'schemer
 
— n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009

Word Origin & History

scheme
1553, "figure of speech," from M.L. schema  "shape, figure, form, figure of speech," from Gk. skhema  (gen. skhematos ) "figure, appearance, the nature of a thing," related to skhein  "to get," and ekhein  "to have," from PIE base *segh-  "to hold, to hold in one's power, to have" (cf. Skt. sahate  "he masters," sahah  "power, victory;" Avestan hazah  "power, victory;" Gk. ekhein  "to have, hold;" Goth. sigis,  O.H.G. sigu,  O.N. sigr,  O.E. sige  "victory"). The sense "program of action" first is attested 1647. Unfavorable overtones (selfish, devious) began to creep in early 18c. The verb, in the sense of "devise a scheme," was first recorded 1767. Color scheme  is attested from 1884.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: scheme
Function: noun
1 :  a combination of elements (as statutes or regulations) that are connected, adjusted, and integrated by design :  a systematic plan or program scheme >
2 :  a crafty, unethical, or fraudulent project scheme to defraud investors>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

Computing Dictionary

Scheme definition
programming
 (Originally "Schemer", by analogy with Planner and Conniver). A small, uniform Lisp dialect with clean semantics, developed initially by Guy Steele and Gerald Sussman in 1975. Scheme uses applicative order reduction and lexical scope. It treats both functions and continuations as first-class objects.
One of the most used implementations is DrScheme, others include Bigloo, Elk, Liar, Orbit, Scheme86 (Indiana U), SCM, MacScheme (Semantic Microsystems), PC Scheme (TI), MIT Scheme, and T.

Mailing list: scheme [at] mc [dot] lcs [dot] mit [dot] edu.
[IEEE P1178-1990, "IEEE Standard for the Scheme Programming Language", ISBN 1-55937-125-0].
(2003-09-14)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org

Idioms & Phrases

scheme

see best-laid plans (schemes).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.