noun

schema

SKEE-muh

Schema (noun) means an outline, plan or model showing how the parts of something fit together. Example: “The report sets out a schema for reorganising the department.”

noun

An outline, plan or model showing how the parts of something fit together.

"The report sets out a schema for reorganising the department."

psychology A mental framework built from past experience that a person uses to organise and interpret new information.

"A child's schema for dog has to stretch the first time it meets a chihuahua."

"Therapy aims to challenge the negative schemas formed in childhood."

computing A formal description of how data is organised, listing the tables, fields, types and rules that a database or document must follow.

"Adding the column meant a schema migration on every environment."

"The API rejects any payload that fails schema validation."

How to Use Schema

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA plan showing how the parts of something are arranged.

When to use it

Technical or academic; rare in casual speech.

Memory tip

Scheme means a plan of action or a plot; schema means a structural blueprint. They are not interchangeable.

Trace the full origin ↓

Easily confused with

scheme → schematic → schemata

Common pairings

database schema schema validation cognitive schema schema migration

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

The report sets out a _____ for reorganising the department.

Etymology

From Greek skhema "form, figure, appearance".

Origin: Greek

Synonyms

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framework outline model plan structure mental model frame

Related Words

system body example form plan view design picture

Rhymes for schema

ema Sema enema edema Seema cinema eczema anathema problema

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the plural of schema?

Both schemas and schemata are correct. Schemas is now normal in computing and in general use; schemata survives mainly in psychology, philosophy and academic writing.

What is the difference between a schema and a database?

The database is the actual store of data; the schema is the blueprint describing its shape, saying which tables exist, what columns they hold and how they relate. In some systems, such as PostgreSQL, schema also names a namespace grouping tables inside one database.

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system body example form plan view design picture