scale

1 of 7

noun (1)

ˈskāl 

1

: an instrument or machine for weighing

2

a

: a beam that is supported freely in the center and has two pans of equal weight suspended from its ends

—usually used in plural

b

: either pan or tray of a balance

scale

2 of 7

verb (1)

scaled; scaling

transitive verb

: to weigh in scales

intransitive verb

: to have a specified weight on scales

scale

3 of 7

noun (2)

1

a

: a small, flattened, rigid, and definitely circumscribed plate forming part of the external body covering especially of a fish

b

: a small thin plate suggesting a fish scale

scales of mica

the scales on a moth's wing

c

: the scaly covering of a scaled animal

2

: a small thin dry lamina shed (as in many skin diseases) from the skin

3

: a thin coating, layer, or incrustation: such as

a

: a usually black scaly coating of oxide forming on the surface of a metal (such as iron) when it is heated for processing

b

: a hard incrustation usually rich in sulfate of calcium that is deposited on the inside of a vessel (such as a boiler) in which water is heated

4

a

: a modified leaf protecting a seed plant bud before expansion

b

: a thin, membranous, chaffy, or woody bract

5

a

: any of the small overlapping usually metal pieces forming the outer surface of scale armor

b

: scale armor

6

a

: scale insect

b

: infestation with or disease caused by scale insects

scaled

ˈskāld 

adjective

scaleless

ˈskāl-ləs 

adjective

scale

4 of 7

verb (2)

scaled; scaling

transitive verb

1

: to remove the scale or scales from (as by scraping)

scale a fish

2

: to take off in thin layers or scales

scale tartar from the teeth

3

: to throw (something, such as a thin, flat stone) so that the edge cuts the air or so that it skips on water : skim

intransitive verb

1

: to separate and come off in scales : flake

2

: to shed scales

scaling skin

scale

5 of 7

noun (3)

1

: a graduated series of musical tones ascending or descending in order of pitch according to a specified scheme of their intervals

2

: something graduated especially when used as a measure or rule: such as

a

: an indication of the relationship between the distances on a map and the corresponding actual distances

b

: a series of marks or points at known intervals used to measure distances (such as the height of the mercury in a thermometer)

c

: ruler sense 3

3

a

: a graduated series or scheme of rank or order

a scale of taxation

b

: minimum wage sense 2

4

a

: a proportion between two sets of dimensions (as between those of a drawing and its original)

b

: a distinctive relative size, extent, or degree

projects done on a large scale

5

: a graded series of tests or of performances used in rating individual intelligence or achievement

6

a

archaic : a means of ascent

b

obsolete : ladder

scale adjective

scale

6 of 7

verb (3)

scaled; scaling

transitive verb

1

a

: to climb up or reach by means of a ladder

b

: to attack with or take by means of scaling ladders

scale a castle wall

c

: to reach the highest point of : surmount

scale a mountain

2

a

: to pattern, make, regulate, set, or estimate according to some rate or standard : adjust

a production schedule scaled to actual need

—often used with back, down, or up

scale down imports

b

: to arrange in a graduated series

c(1)

: to measure by or as if by a scale

(2)

: to measure or estimate the sound content of (logs, standing timber, etc.)

intransitive verb

1

: to climb by or as if by a ladder

2

: to rise in a graduated series

3

: measure

scale

7 of 7

noun (4)

1

: an estimate of the amount of sound lumber in logs or standing timber

2

obsolete : escalade

Phrases

to scale

: according to the proportions of an established scale of measurement

floor plans drawn to scale

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• balance

Verb (1)

• gauge
• gage
• measure
• span

Noun (2)

• lamella
• lamina
• plate

Noun (3)

• graduation
• hierarchy
• ladder
• ordering
• ranking

Examples of scale in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

China doesn’t yet produce advanced chips at scale, but holds a sizable chunk of the global market for less-advanced legacy chips. —Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 18 Apr. 2024

But nobody does it quite like Swift, or at least at the same scale. —Ben Sisario, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024

Police also found marijuana, white pills, a scale and plastic baggies used to store marijuana in the apartment. —Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Apr. 2024

Still, on the grand scale of all black holes, the 33-solar-mass Gaia BH3 is relatively small. —Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024

Some historians have compared the flux of ideas and connections today to the turmoil of the Renaissance and Reformation five centuries ago, but on a much larger scale. —TIME, 17 Apr. 2024

Though this winter in Big Sur hasn’t been quite as wet as the last, Warrick said his team is still seeing movement on a similar scale to what was recorded last year. —Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024

So, with that said, check this wonderful 36 mm art watch out: A retro-grade time scale is indicated by two butterflies amid a sculptural field of flowers. —Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 15 Apr. 2024

Rivian this week debuted a new public charger reliability score that uses plug-in data from its vehicles to grade the chargers on an A-to-F scale. —Emily Dreibelbis, PCMAG, 15 Apr. 2024

Verb

None of the existing solutions for removing atmospheric carbon will scale fast enough to have an impact in the coming decades, Crawford says. —Jessica Rawnsley, WIRED, 18 Apr. 2024

Fueled by passion, the founders sought to scale their venture, inviting friends and family to support their venture. —Hilary Tetenbaum, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024

In February, Microsoft announced a multi-year, $16.3 million partnership with Mistral focused on commercializing its flagship models and scaling up its AI development and deployment. —Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 17 Apr. 2024

The robot utilizes a set of onboard sensors to scale the area ahead of it and look for concave rocks or other signs suggestive of a graspable area. —Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 17 Apr. 2024

Those plans were scaled back from initial ambitions for some 600,000 riverside spectators, most of them free tickets. —Patrick Smith, NBC News, 15 Apr. 2024

However, their drawback concerns the fact that interferometers are also bulky, which restricts how well such neural nets can scale up. —IEEE Spectrum, 12 Apr. 2024

In 1863 and 1864, official Fourth of July celebrations were canceled or scaled back to keep a lid on angry feelings. —Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024

According to the new report by research firm Rhodium Group, the US needs to spend roughly $100 billion a year on CDR in order to scale up to a level that would help the country meet its climate goals. —Justine Calma, The Verge, 11 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English scole, scale bowl, scale of a balance, from Old Norse skāl; akin to Old Norse skel shell — more at shell

Noun (2)

Middle English, from Anglo-French escale, eschale, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English scealu shell, husk — more at shell

Noun (3)

Middle English, from Late Latin scala ladder, staircase, from Latin scalae, plural, stairs, rungs, ladder; akin to Latin scandere to climb — more at scan

Verb (3) and Noun (4)

Middle English, from scale entry 5

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2b

Verb (1)

1691, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (3)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 6b

Verb (3)

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1b

Noun (4)

circa 1587, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing scale

• arithmetic scale
• armored scale
• Beaufort scale
• Binet-Simon scale
• Brix scale
• bud scale
• chromatic scale
• cottony-cushion scale
• economy of scale
• full-scale
• gapped scale
• gray scale
• HO scale
• large-scale
• large-scale integration
• logarithmic scale
• Mercalli scale
• on a global scale
• on a scale of
• purple scale
• Richter scale
• San Jose scale
• scale armor
• scale-down
• scale insect
• scale model
• scale the heights of
• scale-up
• sliding scale
• small-scale
• sub-scale
• the Richter scale
• to scale
• wage scale

Kids Definition

scale

1 of 6 noun

ˈskā(ə)l 

1

a

: either pan of a balance

b

: balance entry 1 sense 1

—usually used in plural

2

: a device for weighing

a bathroom scale

scale

2 of 6 verb

scaled; scaling

1

: to weigh in scales

2

: to have a specified weight

scale

3 of 6 noun

1

a

: any of the small stiff flat plates that form an outer covering on the body of some animals and especially fishes and reptiles

b

: a small thin plate that resembles an animal scale

scales of mica

the scales on a moth's wing

2

: a small thin flake (as of dandruff) shed from the skin

3

: a thin layer or coating formed especially on metal (as iron)

boiler scale

4

: a special leaf that covers a bud of a seed plant

5

a

: scale insect

b

: a disease of plants caused by a scale insect

scaleless

ˈskā(ə)l-ləs 

adjective

scalelike

ˈskā(ə)l-ˌlīk

adjective

scale

4 of 6 verb

scaled; scaling

1

: to remove scale or the scales from

scale a boiler

scale fish

2

: to take off in scales or thin layers

scale the bark off a tree

3

: to come off in scales or shed scales : flake

4

: to throw a flat object so as to sail in air or skip on water

scale

5 of 6 noun

1

: a series of tones going up or down in pitch with each tone having a fixed relationship to those above and below it

2

a

: a series of spaces marked by lines and used to measure distances or to register something (as the height of the mercury in a thermometer)

b

: a divided line on a map or chart indicating the length (as an inch) used to represent a larger unit of measure (as a mile)

c

: an instrument consisting of a strip (as of wood, plastic, or metal) with spaces on its surface that are evenly divided and numbered for measuring distances or amounts

3

: a series divided into classes

4

: the size of a picture, plan, or model of a thing compared to the size of the thing itself

5

: size in comparison

do things on a large scale

6

: a rule by which something can be measured or judged

scale

6 of 6 verb

scaled; scaling

1

: to climb by or as if by a ladder

scale a wall

scale a cliff

2

a

: to arrange in order with the highest assigned one value (as a grade of A) and the lowest another value (as a grade of D) with the rest placed in groups between the two

scale a test

b

: to measure by or as if by a scale

c

: to make, regulate, or estimate by a rule

scale down the budget

scaler noun

Etymology

Noun

Middle English scale "bowl, pan or tray of a balance," of Norse origin

Noun

Middle English scale "a plate on the skin of a fish," from early French escale (same meaning); of Germanic origin

Noun

Middle English scale "ladder," from Latin scala "ladder, staircase," from earlier scalae (plural) "stairs, rungs, ladder"

Medical Definition

scale

1 of 5 noun

ˈskā(ə)l 

1

a

: either pan or tray of a balance

b

: a beam that is supported freely in the center and has two pans of equal weight suspended from its ends

—usually used in plural

2

: an instrument or machine for weighing

scale

2 of 5 verb

scaled; scaling

transitive verb

: to weigh in scales

intransitive verb

: to have a specified weight on scales

scale

3 of 5 noun

1

: a small thin dry lamina shed (as in many skin diseases) from the skin

2

: a film of tartar encrusting the teeth

scale

4 of 5 verb

scaled; scaling

transitive verb

: to take off in thin layers or scales

scale tartar from the teeth

intransitive verb

1

: to separate or come off in thin layers or laminae

2

: to shed scales or fragmentary surface matter : exfoliate

scaling skin

scale

5 of 5 noun

1

: a series of marks or points at known intervals used to measure distances (as the height of the mercury in a thermometer)

2

: a graduated series or scheme of rank or order

3

: a graded series of tests or of performances used in rating individual intelligence or achievement

Legal Definition

scale

noun

: a set of graduated wage rates

also : a wage consistent with such rates compare minimum wage