Scale - definition, pronunciation, transcription

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Amer.  |skeɪl|  American pronunciation of the word scale
Brit.  |skeɪl|  British pronunciation of the word scale

noun

- an ordered reference standard
judging on a scale of 1 to 10
- relative magnitude
they entertained on a grand scale
- the ratio between the size of something and a representation of it
the scale of the map
the scale of the model
- a specialized leaf or bract that protects a bud or catkin
- a thin flake of dead epidermis shed from the surface of the skin (syn: exfoliation, scurf)
- (music) a series of notes differing in pitch according to a specific scheme (usually within an octave)
- a measuring instrument for weighing; shows amount of mass
- an indicator having a graduated sequence of marks
- a metal sheathing of uniform thickness (such as the shield attached to an artillery piece to protect the gunners) (syn: plate, shell)
- a flattened rigid plate forming part of the body covering of many animals

verb

- measure by or as if by a scale
This bike scales only 25 pounds
- pattern, make, regulate, set, measure, or estimate according to some rate or standard
- take by attacking with scaling ladders
The troops scaled the walls of the fort
- reach the highest point of (syn: surmount)
We scaled the Mont Blanc
- climb up by means of a ladder
- remove the scales from (syn: descale)
scale fish
- measure with or as if with scales
scale the gold
- size or measure according to a scale
This model must be scaled down

Extra examples

The waitress received much scale at the hotel.

The scale was trembling between life and death.

The single tusk of the big elephant scaled one hundred and sixty pounds.

The variables are scaled in various ways.

Rebecca Stephens was the first British woman to scale Everest.

Earthquakes are measured on the Richter scale.

We had underestimated the scale of the problem.

There has been housing development on a massive scale since 1980.

Most alternative technologies work best on a small scale.

A structural survey revealed the full scale of the damage.

I was shocked by the sheer scale (=very big scale) of the destruction.

Pollution could cause changes to weather patterns on a global scale.

Large firms benefit from economies of scale (=ways of saving money because they are big).

Some rural schools have 50 pupils, while at the other end of the scale are city schools with nearly 5,000 pupils.

She gradually made her way up the social scale.

Word forms

verb
I/you/we/they: scale
he/she/it: scales
present participle: scaling
past tense: scaled
past participle: scaled
noun
singular: scale
plural: scales
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