scale

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A ladder

   A ladder; a series of steps; a means of ascending.

2. 2

   An ordered, usually numerical sequence used for measurement

   An ordered, usually numerical sequence used for measurement; means of assigning a magnitude.

   • Please rate your experience on a scale from 1 to 10.
   • The magnitude of an earthquake is measured on the open-ended Richter scale.
3. 3

   Size

   Size; scope.

   • There are some who question the scale of our ambitions.
4. ›+ 30 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      The ratio of depicted distance to actual distance.

      • This map uses a scale of 1:10.
   2. 5

      A line or bar associated with a drawing, used to indicate measurement when the image has…

      A line or bar associated with a drawing, used to indicate measurement when the image has been magnified or reduced.

      • Even though precision can be carried to an extreme, the scales which now are drawn in (and usually connected to an appropriate figure by an arrow) will allow derivation of meaningful measurements.
   3. 6

      A series of notes spanning an octave, tritave, or pseudo-octave, used to make melodies.

   4. 7

      A mathematical base for a numeral system

      A mathematical base for a numeral system; radix.

      • the decimal scale, the binary scale
   5. 8

      Gradation

      Gradation; succession of ascending and descending steps and degrees; progressive series; scheme of comparative rank or order.

      • There is a certain scale of duties […] which for want of studying in right order, all the world is in confusion.
      • City's players and supporters travelled from one end of the emotional scale to the other in those vital seconds, providing a truly remarkable piece of football theatre and the most dramatic conclusion to a season in Premier League history.
   6. 9

      A standard amount of money to be paid for a service, for example union-negotiated amounts…

      A standard amount of money to be paid for a service, for example union-negotiated amounts received by a performer or writer; similar to wage scale or pay grade.

      • Sally wasn't the star of the show, so she was glad to be paid scale.
   7. 10

      To change the size of something whilst maintaining proportion

      To change the size of something whilst maintaining proportion; especially to change a process in order to produce much larger amounts of the final product.

      • We should scale that up by a factor of 10.
   8. 11

      To climb to the top of.

      • Hilary and Norgay were the first known to have scaled Everest.
      • A solitary rock is always attractive. All right-minded people feel an overwhelming desire to scale and sit upon it.
   9. 12

      To tolerate significant increases in throughput or other potentially limiting factors.

      • That architecture won't scale to real-world environments.
   10. 13

       To weigh, measure or grade according to a scale or system.

       • Scaling his present bearing with his past.
       • The kitchen-dining-buffet car scales 49.2 tons.
   11. 14

       To take measurements from (an engineering drawing), treating them as (or as if) reliable…

       To take measurements from (an engineering drawing), treating them as (or as if) reliable dimensional instructions.

       • Every single drawing in the specification has a warning in its title block which reads, "Do not scale this drawing."
   12. 15

       Part of an overlapping arrangement of many small, flat and hard pieces of keratin…

       Part of an overlapping arrangement of many small, flat and hard pieces of keratin covering the skin of an animal, particularly a fish or reptile.

       • Fish that, with their fins and shining scales, / Glide under the green wave.
   13. 16

       A small piece of pigmented chitin, many of which coat the wings of a butterfly or moth to…

       A small piece of pigmented chitin, many of which coat the wings of a butterfly or moth to give them their color.

   14. 17

       A flake of skin of an animal afflicted with dermatitis.

   15. 18

       Part of an overlapping arrangement of many small, flat and hard protective layers forming…

       Part of an overlapping arrangement of many small, flat and hard protective layers forming a pinecone that flare when mature to release pine nut seeds.

   16. 19

       The flaky material sloughed off heated metal.

   17. 20

       Scale mail (as opposed to chain mail).

   18. 21

       Limescale.

   19. 22

       A scale insect.

   20. 23

       The thin metallic side plate of the handle of a pocketknife.

   21. 24

       An infestation of scale insects on a plant

       An infestation of scale insects on a plant; commonly thought of as, or mistaken for, a disease.

   22. 25

       To remove the scales of.

       • Please scale that fish for dinner.
   23. 26

       To become scaly

       To become scaly; to produce or develop scales.

       • The dry weather is making my skin scale.
   24. 27

       To strip or clear of scale

       To strip or clear of scale; to descale.

       • to scale the inside of a boiler
   25. 28

       To take off in thin layers or scales, as tartar from the teeth

       To take off in thin layers or scales, as tartar from the teeth; to pare off, as a surface.

       • 1684-1690, Thomas Burnet, Sacred Theory of the Earth if all the mountains and hills were scaled, and the earth made even
   26. 29

       To separate and come off in thin layers or laminae.

       • Some sandstone scales by exposure.
       • Those that cast their shell are the lobster and crab; the old skins are found, but the old shells never; so it is likely that they scale off.
   27. 30

       To scatter

       To scatter; to spread.

   28. 31

       To clean, as the inside of a cannon, by the explosion of a small quantity of powder.

       • cannons […]caused to be scaled and loaded
   29. 32

       A device to measure mass or weight.

       • After the long, lazy winter I was afraid to get on the scale.
   30. 33

       Either of the pans, trays, or dishes of a balance or scales.

The neighborhood

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• neighborordinal variable
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• neighborPalermo scaleearthquake
• neighborRichter scaleearthquake
• neighborwage scaleeconomy
• neighborArabic scale
• neighborblue scale
• neighborblues scale
• neighborbrown soft scale
• neighborbugle scale
• neighborByzantine Music scale