schema.

An organized framework used to understand, arrange, or interpret information.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• conceptual schema
• database schema

On the page

The new evidence did not fit the schema the researchers had used.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Singular schema; plural schemas or schemata. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.