/ skiːm; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun scheme (for doing sth) | scheme (to do sth)
1.
( BrE ) a plan or system for doing or organizing sth :
a training scheme
a local scheme for recycling newspapers
to introduce / operate a scheme to improve links between schools and industry
Under the new scheme only successful schools will be given extra funding.
—see also colour scheme , pension scheme
2.
a plan for getting money or some other advantage for yourself, especially one that involves cheating other people :
an elaborate scheme to avoid taxes
•
IDIOMS
- the / sb's scheme of things
■ verb
1.
( disapproving ) to make secret plans to do sth that will help yourself and possibly harm others
SYN plot :
[ v ]
She seemed to feel that we were all scheming against her.
[ v to inf ]
His colleagues, meanwhile, were busily scheming to get rid of him.
[ vn ]
Her enemies were scheming her downfall.
2.
( SAfrE , informal ) to think or form an opinion about sth :
[ vn ]
What do you scheme?
'Do you think he'll come?' 'I scheme so.'
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent. (denoting a figure of speech): from Latin schema , from Greek skhēma form, figure. An early sense was diagram of the position of celestial objects , giving rise to diagram, outline , which led to the current senses. The unfavourable notion “plot” arose in the mid 18th cent.