1
as in ruse
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
an e-mail scheme to trick unwary Internet users into disclosing passwords and financial information
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2
as in conspiracy
a secret plan for accomplishing evil or unlawful ends
a scheme to kidnap the president's daughter
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3
as in plan
a method worked out in advance for achieving some objective
a scheme to upgrade the city's mass transit system
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as in to plot
to engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends
the town inspector had schemed to overlook the contractor's code violations in exchange for a substantial bribe
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scheme
News Desk, Artforum, 7 Nov. 2025
In the grander scheme, Big Pete joins his family across North Carolina to protect the grandmother tree.
—Khadejeh Nikouyeh, Charlotte Observer, 7 Nov. 2025
Luca Evans, Denver Post, 21 Oct. 2025
In Return From the Ashes (1965), Eggar schemed to murder her stepmother (Ingrid Thulin), a concentration camp survivor.
—Chris Koseluk, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scheme
Noun
Despite these schemes, workers in June staged a wildcat strike against unfavorable working conditions, shuttering the Louvre temporarily.
—News Desk, Artforum, 7 Nov. 2025
In the grander scheme, Big Pete joins his family across North Carolina to protect the grandmother tree.
—Khadejeh Nikouyeh, Charlotte Observer, 7 Nov. 2025
Verb
Defenses can't scheme to take away the sidelines -- or avoid back-shoulder matchups with Sutton on a corner — as often when the Broncos are playing faster in the fourth quarter.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 21 Oct. 2025
In Return From the Ashes (1965), Eggar schemed to murder her stepmother (Ingrid Thulin), a concentration camp survivor.
—Chris Koseluk, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scheme
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scheme
Noun
-
The New York Colored American reported that some offers of short-term work for Black men — moving livestock to or from Kentucky, for example — were ruses that ended with kidnappings.—
Equal Justice Initiative,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Odysseus, the Ithacan warrior who is as celebrated for craftiness as Achilles is for brute strength, devises a clever ruse in which the Greeks place a giant wooden horse outside Troy’s walls and pretend to sail away.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Police arrested Wimunc on suspicion of his wife's murder, charging him with first-degree murder, second-degree arson and conspiracy to commit second-degree arson.—
Mason Leath,
ABC News,
7 Nov. 2025
-
From the off, Deza identifies any number of gaps and inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case against her client, and even evidence of a systemic conspiracy against her.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Dumas has worked for Valero for four years but just moved to the Benicia location from Arizona a year ago, just a few months before the energy company announced a possible plan to cease or idle operations.—
Amanda Hari,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
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The plan is to develop a cost-effective, energy-efficient technology for making innovative plastics based on polybutylene succinate (PBS) which are made entirely out of organic waste.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Bea incredulously finds out that Christy has been involved in a treasure hunt for years now, believing that there is a million dollars hidden somewhere in the state, planning and plotting her methods of finding it, and Christy is finally setting her plan in motion.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Jan. 2026
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But moderate House Republicans are plotting potential compromise measures with moderates in the Senate.—
Emily Brooks,
The Hill,
4 Jan. 2026
Noun
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This dish will do the trick with crispy chicken and fresh zucchini tossed in a tender linguine with a robust lemon flavor.—
Lisa Cericola,
Southern Living,
7 Jan. 2026
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But even an invitation to hang out again, perhaps paired with a gift card to a local lunch spot, could do the trick.—
Mandy Len Catron,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Or Cenote, the Yucatan Peninsula hole with a massive ramp above the hole that takes different strategies depending on the pin location.—
Brody Miller,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Bond said the Hoosier Lottery would adopt the strategies other states employ, such as cross-promoting digital and retail tickets.—
Kayla Dwyer,
IndyStar,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Moffett is the author of two short story collections, as well as The Silent History, a narrative app for mobile devices.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
-
The show leans into this offensive, problematic plot device without any self-awareness.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The team has already developed a basic blueprint for this substance and applied for a patent.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Jan. 2026
-
What the new blueprint looks like is still hazy, and there isn’t just one way anymore.—
David Ubben,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scheme.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scheme. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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