scale
♦♦ scale /sk'eɪl/ (scales scaling scaled)
1 [N-SING] also no det, with supp
If you refer to the scale of something, you are referring to its size or extent, especially when it is very big.
However, he underestimates the scale of the problem...
The break-down of law and order could result in killing on a massive scale...
see also full-scale, large-scale,
2 [N-COUNT] usu with supp
A scale is a set of levels or numbers which are used in a particular system of measuring things or are used when comparing things.
...an earthquake measuring five-point-five on the Richter scale...
The higher up the social scale they are, the more the men have to lose.
see also sliding scale, timescale
3 [N-COUNT] usu with supp
A pay scale or scale of fees is a list that shows how much someone should be paid, depending, for example, on their age or what work they do. (BRIT)
...those on the high end of the pay scale...
4 [N-COUNT] usu with supp
The scale of a map, plan, or model is the relationship between the size of something in the map, plan, or model and its size in the real world.
The map, on a scale of 1:10,000, shows over 5,000 individual paths.
see also full-scale, large-scale
5 [ADJ] ADJ n
A scale model or scale replica of a building or object is a model of it which is smaller than the real thing but has all the same parts and features.
Franklin made his mother an intricately detailed scale model of the house.
6 [N-COUNT]
In music, a scale is a fixed sequence of musical notes, each one higher than the next, which begins at a particular note.
...the scale of C major.
7 [N-COUNT] usu pl
The scales of a fish or reptile are the small, flat pieces of hard skin that cover its body.
8 [N-PLURAL] also a pair of N
Scales are a piece of equipment used for weighing things, for example for weighing amounts of food that you need in order to make a particular meal.
...a pair of kitchen scales.
...bathroom scales...
9 [VERB] V n
If you scale something such as a mountain or a wall, you climb up it or over it. (WRITTEN)
...Rebecca Stephens, the first British woman to scale Everest...
= climb
10 [PHRASE] usu v-link PHR, oft PHR with n
If something is out of scale with the things near it, it is too big or too small in relation to them.
The tower was surmounted by an enormous statue, utterly out of scale with the building.
11 [PHRASE] v-link PHR, PHR after v
If the different parts of a map, drawing, or model are to scale, they are the right size in relation to each other.
...a miniature garden, with little pagodas and bridges all to scale.econo|mies of scale
[N-PLURAL]
Economies of scale are the financial advantages that a company gains when it produces large quantities of products. (BUSINESS)
Car firms are desperate to achieve economies of scale.Richter scale /r'ɪktər skeɪl/
[N-SING] the N
The Richter scale is a scale which is used for measuring how severe an earthquake is.
An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale struck California yesterday.scale back
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), also V n P
To scale back means the same as to scale down. (mainly AM)
Despite current price advantage, UK manufacturers are still having to scale back production.
= reducescale down
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V-ed P
If you scale down something, you make it smaller in size, amount, or extent than it used to be.
One Peking factory has had to scale down its workforce from six hundred to only six...
The Romanian government yesterday unveiled a new, scaled-down security force.
= reducescale up
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), also V n P
If you scale up something, you make it greater in size, amount, or extent than it used to be.
Since then, Wellcome has been scaling up production to prepare for clinical trials.
= increaseslid|ing scale (sliding scales)
[N-COUNT] usu sing, oft N of n, on a N
Payments such as wages or taxes that are calculated on a sliding scale are higher or lower depending on various different factors.
Many practitioners have a sliding scale of fees.
1 [N-SING] also no det, with supp
If you refer to the scale of something, you are referring to its size or extent, especially when it is very big.
However, he underestimates the scale of the problem...
The break-down of law and order could result in killing on a massive scale...
see also full-scale, large-scale,
2 [N-COUNT] usu with supp
A scale is a set of levels or numbers which are used in a particular system of measuring things or are used when comparing things.
...an earthquake measuring five-point-five on the Richter scale...
The higher up the social scale they are, the more the men have to lose.
see also sliding scale, timescale
3 [N-COUNT] usu with supp
A pay scale or scale of fees is a list that shows how much someone should be paid, depending, for example, on their age or what work they do. (BRIT)
...those on the high end of the pay scale...
4 [N-COUNT] usu with supp
The scale of a map, plan, or model is the relationship between the size of something in the map, plan, or model and its size in the real world.
The map, on a scale of 1:10,000, shows over 5,000 individual paths.
see also full-scale, large-scale
5 [ADJ] ADJ n
A scale model or scale replica of a building or object is a model of it which is smaller than the real thing but has all the same parts and features.
Franklin made his mother an intricately detailed scale model of the house.
6 [N-COUNT]
In music, a scale is a fixed sequence of musical notes, each one higher than the next, which begins at a particular note.
...the scale of C major.
7 [N-COUNT] usu pl
The scales of a fish or reptile are the small, flat pieces of hard skin that cover its body.
8 [N-PLURAL] also a pair of N
Scales are a piece of equipment used for weighing things, for example for weighing amounts of food that you need in order to make a particular meal.
...a pair of kitchen scales.
...bathroom scales...
9 [VERB] V n
If you scale something such as a mountain or a wall, you climb up it or over it. (WRITTEN)
...Rebecca Stephens, the first British woman to scale Everest...
= climb
10 [PHRASE] usu v-link PHR, oft PHR with n
If something is out of scale with the things near it, it is too big or too small in relation to them.
The tower was surmounted by an enormous statue, utterly out of scale with the building.
11 [PHRASE] v-link PHR, PHR after v
If the different parts of a map, drawing, or model are to scale, they are the right size in relation to each other.
...a miniature garden, with little pagodas and bridges all to scale.econo|mies of scale
[N-PLURAL]
Economies of scale are the financial advantages that a company gains when it produces large quantities of products. (BUSINESS)
Car firms are desperate to achieve economies of scale.Richter scale /r'ɪktər skeɪl/
[N-SING] the N
The Richter scale is a scale which is used for measuring how severe an earthquake is.
An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale struck California yesterday.scale back
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), also V n P
To scale back means the same as to scale down. (mainly AM)
Despite current price advantage, UK manufacturers are still having to scale back production.
= reducescale down
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V-ed P
If you scale down something, you make it smaller in size, amount, or extent than it used to be.
One Peking factory has had to scale down its workforce from six hundred to only six...
The Romanian government yesterday unveiled a new, scaled-down security force.
= reducescale up
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), also V n P
If you scale up something, you make it greater in size, amount, or extent than it used to be.
Since then, Wellcome has been scaling up production to prepare for clinical trials.
= increaseslid|ing scale (sliding scales)
[N-COUNT] usu sing, oft N of n, on a N
Payments such as wages or taxes that are calculated on a sliding scale are higher or lower depending on various different factors.
Many practitioners have a sliding scale of fees.