schema

UK: /ˈskiːmə/ US: (skē′mə)

Inflections of 'schema' (n):

schemata

npl

schemas

npl

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

sche•ma  (skē′mə), n., pl. sche•ma•ta (skē′mə tə or, sometimes, skē mä′tə, ski-), sche•mas. 

1. a diagram, plan, or scheme.
2. Linguistics an underlying organizational pattern or structure;
   conceptual framework.
3. Philosophy (in Kantian epistemology) a concept, similar to a universal but limited to phenomenal knowledge, by which an object of knowledge or an idea of pure reason may be apprehended.

• Greek schêma form
• 1790–1800

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

schema / ˈskiːmə/ noun ( -mata / -mətə/)

1. a plan, diagram, or scheme
2. (in the philosophy of Kant) a rule or principle that enables the understanding to apply its categories and unify experience

Etymology: 19th Century: from Greek: form