📒 the size or extent of something, especially when compared with something else
- on a … scale 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 per cent of energy is created from fossil fuels.
📒 a range of levels or numbers used for measuring something
- a five-point pay scale
- to evaluate performance on a scale from 1 to 10
- The salary scale goes from £12 000 to £20 000.
📒 the set of all the different levels of something, from the lowest to the highest
- At the other end of the scale, life is a constant struggle to get enough to eat.
- You're higher on the social scale than I am.
- Farm workers were always considered to be low down on the social scale.
📒 a series of marks at regular points on an instrument that is used for measuring
- How much does it read on the scale?
- He read the altitude in degrees off the 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)
📒 the relation between the actual size of something and its size on a map, diagram or model that represents it
- a scale of 1:25 000
- a scale model/drawing
- Both plans are drawn to the same scale.
📒 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
📒 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.
📒 a hard white substance that is sometimes left inside water pipes and containers for heating water
📒 a hard substance that forms on teeth, especially when they are not cleaned regularly
📒 to affect the result of something in one way rather than another
- In an interview, smart presentation can tip the scales in your favour.
- New evidence tipped the balance against the prosecution.
📒 to weigh a particular amount
- He tipped the scales at just over 80 kilos.