size
1 [sing.,U] ~ (of sth) the size or extent of sth, especially when compared with sth else:
They entertain on a large scale (= they hold expensive parties with a lot of guests). * Here was corruption on a grand scale. * On a global scale, 77% of energy is created from fossil fuels. * to achieve economies of scale in production (= to produce many items so the cost of producing each one is reduced) * It was impossible to comprehend the full scale of the disaster. * It was not until morning that the sheer scale of the damage could be seen (= how great it was).
seealsoFULL-SCALE, LARGE-SCALE, SMALL-SCALE
range of levels
2 [C] a range of levels or numbers used for measuring sth:
a five-point pay scale * to evaluate performance on a scale from 1 to 10 * The salary scale goes from ｣12000 to ｣20000. * a scale of fees / charges
seealsoRICHTERSCALE, SLIDINGSCALE, TIMESCALE
3 [C,usually sing.] the set of all the different levels of sth, from the lowest to the highest:
At the other end of the scale, life is a constant struggle to get enough to eat. * the social scale
marks for measuring
4 [C] a series of marks at regular intervals on an instrument that is used for measuring:
How much does it read on the scale?
weighing instrument
5 (scales) [pl.] (AmE also scale) an instrument for weighing people or things:
bathroom / kitchen / weighing scales * (figurative) the scales of justice (= represented as the two pans on a BALANCE)5()
of map / diagram / model
6 [C] the relation between the actual size of sth and its size on a map, diagram or model that represents it:
a scale of 1:25000 * a scale model / drawing * Both plans are drawn to the same scale. * Is this diagram to scale (= are all its parts the same size and shape in relation to each other as they are in the thing represented)?
in music
7 [C] a series of musical notes moving upwards or downwards, with fixed intervals between each note, especially a series of eight starting on a particular note:
the scale of C major * to practise scales on the piano
compareKEYn.(4), OCTAVE
of fish / reptile
8 [C] any of the thin plates of hard material that cover the skin of many fish and reptiles:
The beast was a dragon, with great purple and green scales.
in water pipes, etc.
9 (BrE also fur) [U] a hard greyish-white substance that is sometimes left inside water pipes and containers for heating water
seealsoLIMESCALE
on teeth
10 [U] a hard substance that forms on teeth, especially when they are not cleaned regularly
comparePLAQUE
IDIOMS see TIPv.
verb [VN]
climb
1 (written) to climb to the top of sth very high and steep:
the first woman to scale Mount Everest * (figurative) He has scaled the heights of his profession.
fish
2 to remove the small flat hard pieces of skin from a fish
teeth
3 to remove TARTAR from the teeth by SCRAPING:
The dentist scaled and polished my teeth.
change size
4 (technical) to change the size of sth:
Text can be scaled from 4 points to 108 points without any loss of quality.
PHRASALVERBS
scale sth<->down (AmE also scale sth<->back) to reduce the number, size or extent of sth:
We are thinking of scaling down our training programmes next year. * The IMF has scaled back its growth forecasts for the next decade. * He was using scaled-down versions of his father's tools.
scale sth<->up to increase the size or number of sth
