Scale Skeɪl Global Size Extra Examples Noun Entertain

• 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.
• corporations are borrowing on a massive scale.

scale

1. the size or extent of something, especially when compared with something else
• SEE ALSO full-scale
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/full-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.
• Corporations are borrowing on a massive scale.
• Western-style consumerism is unsustainable on a global scale.
• Manufacturing is done on a small scale.
• His work as a portrait painter is small in scale.
• 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).
• The scale of the problem is difficult to measure.

Extra Examples

• Do they always entertain on such a lavish scale?
• Economies of scale enable the larger companies to lower their prices.
• It is difficult to comprehend the sheer scale of the suffering caused by the war.
• The dolls are now produced on a commercial scale.
• They plan to expand the scale and scope of their operations.
• We need to determine the scale of the problem.
• a misuse of presidential power on an unprecedented scale
• pollution on a massive scale
• What if a global scale catastrophe happens?
2. a range of levels or numbers used for measuring something
• SEE ALSO Richter scale
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/the-richter-scale
• 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.
• a scale of charges
• Use the following scale to rate each item.

Extra Examples

• After ten years, she had worked her way to the top of the pay scale.
• Please see the attached sheet for our scale of fees.
• On a scale of 1 to 10, he scores 7.
• Patients were asked to state their level of anxiety on a 10-point rating scale.
• On the response sheet, the scale of answers ranged from ‘excellent’ to ‘extremely poor’.
• There is an ascending scale of penalties for traffic offences.
3. 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.

Extra Examples

• Farm workers were always considered to be low down on the social scale.
• At what point on the evolutionary scale do birds come?
• At the bottom end of the scale, there are people living on under a dollar a day.
• He has risen up the social scale from rather humble beginnings.
4. 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.
5. an instrument for weighing people or things
• bathroom/kitchen/weighing scales
• the scales of justice (= represented as the two pans on a balance)
6. 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.
• 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)

Extra Examples

• He's made a scale model of the Eiffel Tower.
• The map has a scale of one centimetre to the kilometre.
• The plan of the building is not drawn to scale.
7. 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
• COMPARE key
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/key_2
• the scale of C major
• to practise scales on the piano
8. 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.
9. a hard white substance that is sometimes left inside water pipes and containers for heating water
• SEE ALSO limescale
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/limescale
10. a hard substance that forms on teeth, especially when they are not cleaned regularly
• COMPARE plaque
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/plaque
11. 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.
12. to weigh a particular amount
• He tipped the scales at just over 80 kilos.

Word Origin

• noun senses 1 to 4 and noun senses 6 to 7 late Middle English: from Latin scala ‘ladder’ (the verb via Old French escaler or medieval Latin scalare ‘climb’), from the base of Latin scandere ‘to climb’. noun sense 5 Middle English (in the sense ‘drinking cup’, surviving in South African English): from Old Norse skál ‘bowl’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch schaal, German Schale ‘bowl’, also to English dialect shale ‘dish’. noun senses 8 to 10 Middle English: shortening of Old French escale, from the Germanic base of scale (noun - sense 5).