Scale | Mean of scale in English Dictionary

/ˈskeɪl/

• Noun
• a device that is used for weighing people or things
1. (US) a bathroom scale
2. (Brit) He stepped onto the bathroom scales.
• one of many small thin plates that cover the bodies of some animals (such as fish or snakes)
• Verb
• to remove the scales from (a fish)
1. You should scale, bone, and clean the fish before you cook it.
• Noun

• a series of musical notes that go up or down in pitch
1. the C-minor scale
2. a major scale
• a line on a map or chart that shows a specific unit of measure (such as an inch) used to represent a larger unit (such as a mile)
1. The map uses a scale of one centimeter for every 10 kilometers.
• a range of numbers that is used to show the size, strength, or quality of something
1. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give the movie a 9. [=the movie was extremely good]
2. On a scale of 1 to 5—1 being mild pain and 5 being extreme pain—tell me how much pain you are in.
• a range of levels of something from lowest to highest
1. He is at the top of the pay scale for his position.
2. Primates are high up on the evolutionary scale.
• the size or level of something especially in comparison to something else
1. The company does things on a larger scale than most others.
2. The mayor surveyed the full scale [=extent] of the damage.
3. The war could impact the economy on a global scale. [=could impact the economy of the entire world]
4. They exposed fraud on a grand scale.
• a hard substance that is formed in pipes or containers holding water
• a hard substance that forms on teeth
1. buildup of plaque and scale on the teeth
• Verb
• to climb to the top of (something)
1. Hikers scaled the mountain.
2. She scaled the heights of the publishing industry. [=she rose to a very high position in the publishing industry]
• to decrease the size, amount, or extent of (something)
1. The committee scaled down the budget.
2. The company has scaled back production.
3. We scaled back our original plans.
• to increase the size, amount, or extent of (something)
1. The company hopes to scale up production soon.