- scale
- [[t]ske͟ɪl[/t]]
♦♦scales, scaling, scaled1) 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.→ See also , large-scale, small-scale
However, he underestimates the scale of the problem...
You may feel dwarfed by the sheer scale of the place...
The break-down of law and order could result in killing on a massive scale...
The British aid programme is small in 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.→ See also , time scale...an earthquake measuring five-point-five on the Richter scale...
The patient rates the therapies on a scale of zero to ten...
The higher up the social scale they are, the more the men have to lose.
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...
A Registered Osteopath will be pleased to tell you his scale of fees before you decide on a consultation.
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.→ See also , large-scaleThe map, on a scale of 1:10,000, shows over 5,000 individual paths.
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...
I step on the scales practically every morning.
9) VERB If you scale something such as a mountain or a wall, you climb up it or over it. [WRITTEN][V n] ...Rebecca Stephens, the first British woman to scale Everest...
[V n] The men scaled a wall and climbed down scaffolding on the other side.
Syn: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 surmounted by its enormous golden statue of the Virgin, 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.
Phrasal Verbs:- scale up
English dictionary. 2008.
