schemes

Noun

scheme (plural schemes)

1. (obsolete, rhetoric) An 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.
   • a blue case, from which was drawn a scheme of nativity1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown...
3. A systematic plan of future action.
   • The stoical scheme of supplying our wants by lopping off our desires, is like cutting off our feet when we want shoes.c. 1713, Jonathan Swift, Thoughts on Various Subjects

   Synonyms:

   blueprint, design, plan, plot, project, proposal

4. A plot or secret, devious plan.
   • Her brain is continually fermenting new schemes.

   Synonyms:

   conspiracy, intrigue, machination, device

5. An orderly combination of related parts.
   • the appearance and outward scheme of things1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC
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

   Synonyms:

   plot, schematic, chart, design, diagram, map, graph, graphic, plan

See all 13 meanings of scheme