Definitions for scale
skeɪlscale

Princeton's WordNet(3.67 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. scale, scale of measurement, graduated table, ordered seriesnoun

   an ordered reference standard

   "judging on a scale of 1 to 10"

2. scalenoun

   relative magnitude

   "they entertained on a grand scale"

3. scalenoun

   the ratio between the size of something and a representation of it

   "the scale of the map"; "the scale of the model"

4. scale, scale leafnoun

   a specialized leaf or bract that protects a bud or catkin

5. scale, scurf, exfoliationnoun

   a thin flake of dead epidermis shed from the surface of the skin

6. scale, musical scalenoun

   (music) a series of notes differing in pitch according to a specific scheme (usually within an octave)

7. scale, weighing machinenoun

   a measuring instrument for weighing; shows amount of mass

8. scalenoun

   an indicator having a graduated sequence of marks

9. plate, scale, shellnoun

   a metal sheathing of uniform thickness (such as the shield attached to an artillery piece to protect the gunners)

10. scaleverb

    a flattened rigid plate forming part of the body covering of many animals

11. scaleverb

    measure by or as if by a scale

    "This bike scales only 25 pounds"

12. scaleverb

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

13. scaleverb

    take by attacking with scaling ladders

    "The troops scaled the walls of the fort"

14. scale, surmountverb

    reach the highest point of

    "We scaled the Mont Blanc"

15. scaleverb

    climb up by means of a ladder

16. scale, descaleverb

    remove the scales from

    "scale fish"

17. scaleverb

    measure with or as if with scales

    "scale the gold"

18. scaleverb

    size or measure according to a scale

    "This model must be scaled down"

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. SCALEnoun

   Etymology: scale , Saxon; schael, Dutch; skal, Islandick.

   1. A balance; a vessel suspended by a beam against another vessel.

   If thou tak’st more
   Or less than just a pound, if the scale turn
   But in the estimation of a hair,
   Thou diest. William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice.

   Your vows to her and me, put in two scales,
   Will even weigh, and both as light as tales. William Shakespeare.

   Here’s an equivocator, that could swear, in both the scales, against either scale; who committed treason enough for God’s sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

   Long time in even scale
   The battle hung. John Milton, Parad. Lost, b. vi.

   The world’s scales are even; what the main
   In one place gets, another quits again. John Cleveland.

   The scales are turn’d, her kindness weighs no more
   Now than my vows. Edmund Waller.

   In full assemblies let the crowd prevail;
   I weigh no more merit by the common scale,
   The conscience is the test. Dryden.

   If we consider the dignity of an intelligent being, and put that in the scales against brute inanimate matter, we may affirm, without overvaluing human nature, that the soul of one virtuous and religious man is of greater worth and excellency than the sun and his planets. Richard Bentley, Sermons.

   2. The sign Libra in the Zodiack.

   Juno pours out the urn, and Vulcan claims
   The scales, as the just product of his flames. Thomas Creech.

   3. [ Escaille, French; squama, Latin.] The small shells or crusts which lying one over another make the coats of fishes.

   He puts him on a coat of mail,
   Which was made of a fish’s scale. Michael Drayton.

   Standing aloof, with lead they bruise the scales,
   And tear the flesh of the incensed whales. Edmund Waller.

   4. Any thing exfoliated or desquamated; a thin lamina.

   Take jet and the scales of iron, and with a wet feather, when the smith hath taken an heat, take up the scales that fly from the iron, and those scales you shall grind upon your painter’s stone. Henry Peacham.

   When a scale of bone is taken out of a wound, burning retards the separation. Samuel Sharp, Surgery.

   5. [ Scala, a ladder, Latin.] Ladder; means of ascent.

   Love refines
   The thoughts, and heart enlarges; hath his seat
   In reason, and is judicious; is the scale
   By which to heav’nly love thou may’st ascend. John Milton.

   On the bendings of these mountains the marks of several ancient scales of stairs may be seen, by which they used to ascend them. Joseph Addison, on Italy.

   6. The act of storming by ladders.

   Others to a city strong
   Lay siege, encamp’d; by batt’ry, scale, and mine
   Assaulting. John Milton, Parad. Lost.

   7. Regular gradation; a regular series rising like a ladder.

   Well hast thou the scale of nature set,
   From centre to circumference; whereon
   In contemplation of created things,
   By steps we may ascend to God. John Milton, Par. Lost.

   The scale of the creatures is a matter of high speculation. Nehemiah Grew.

   The higher nature still advances, and preserves his superiority in the scale of being. Addison.

   All the integral parts of nature have a beautiful analogy to one another, and to their mighty original, whose images are more or less expressive, according to their several gradations in the scale of beings. George Cheyne, Phil. Princ.

   We believe an invisible world, and a scale of spiritual beings all nobler than ourselves. Richard Bentley, Sermons.

   Far as creation’s ample range extends,
   The scale of sensual mental pow’rs ascends. Alexander Pope.

   In contemplation’s scale I’ll soar,
   And be enraptur’d more and more;
   Whilst thus new matter of surprise
   In each gradation shall arise. Alexander Macbean.

   8. A figure subdivided by lines like the steps of a ladder, which is used to measure proportions between pictures and the thing represented.

   The map of London was set out in the year 1658 by Mr. Newcourt, drawn by a scale of yards. John Graunt.

   9. The series of harmonick or musical proportions.

   The bent of his thoughts and reasonings run up and down this scale, that no people can be happy but under good governments. William Temple.

   10. Any thing marked at equal distances.

   They take the flow o’ th’ Nile
   By certain scale i’ th’ pyramid: they know
   By th’ height, the lowness, or the mean, if dearth
   Or foizon follow. William Shakespeare, Ant. and Cleopatra.

2. To Scaleverb

   Etymology: scalare, Italian.

   1. To climb as by ladders.

   Often have I scal’d the craggy oak,
   All to dislodge the raven of her nest:
   How have I wearied, with many a stroke,
   The stately walnut-tree, the while the rest
   Under the tree fell all for nuts at strife! Edmund Spenser.

   Upon the ceasing of the great artillery they assailed the breach, and others with their scaling ladders scaled the walls. Richard Knolles, History of the Turks.

   The way seems difficult, and steep, to scale
   With upright wing against a higher foe. John Milton.

   Heav’n with these engines had been scal’d,
   When mountains heap’d on mountains fail’d. Edmund Waller.

   When the bold Typhæus scal’d the sky,
   And forc’d great Jove from his own heav’n to fly,
   The lesser gods all suffer’d. Dryden.

   2. To measure or compare; to weigh.

   You have found,
   Scaling his present bearing with his past,
   That he’s your fixed enemy. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

   3. [From scale of a fish.] To take off a thin lamina.

   Raphael was sent to scale away the whiteness of Tobit’s eyes. Tob. iii. 17.

   4. To pare off a surface.

   If all the mountains were scaled, and the earth made even, the waters would not overflow its smooth surface. Burnet.

3. To Scaleverb

   To peel off in thin particles.

   Those that cast their shell are the lobster and crab: the old skins are found, but the old shells never; so as it is like they scale off, and crumble away by degrees. Francis Bacon.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Scalenoun

   the dish of a balance; hence, the balance itself; an instrument or machine for weighing; as, to turn the scale; -- chiefly used in the plural when applied to the whole instrument or apparatus for weighing. Also used figuratively

2. Scalenoun

   the sign or constellation Libra

3. Scaleverb

   to weigh or measure according to a scale; to measure; also, to grade or vary according to a scale or system

4. Scalenoun

   one of the small, thin, membranous, bony or horny pieces which form the covering of many fishes and reptiles, and some mammals, belonging to the dermal part of the skeleton, or dermoskeleton. See Cycloid, Ctenoid, and Ganoid

5. Scalenoun

   hence, any layer or leaf of metal or other material, resembling in size and thinness the scale of a fish; as, a scale of iron, of bone, etc

6. Scalenoun

   one of the small scalelike structures covering parts of some invertebrates, as those on the wings of Lepidoptera and on the body of Thysanura; the elytra of certain annelids. See Lepidoptera

7. Scalenoun

   a scale insect. (See below.)

8. Scalenoun

   a small appendage like a rudimentary leaf, resembling the scales of a fish in form, and often in arrangement; as, the scale of a bud, of a pine cone, and the like. The name is also given to the chaff on the stems of ferns

9. Scalenoun

   the thin metallic side plate of the handle of a pocketknife. See Illust. of Pocketknife

10. Scalenoun

    an incrustation deposit on the inside of a vessel in which water is heated, as a steam boiler

11. Scalenoun

    the thin oxide which forms on the surface of iron forgings. It consists essentially of the magnetic oxide, Fe3O4. Also, a similar coating upon other metals

12. Scaleverb

    to strip or clear of scale or scales; as, to scale a fish; to scale the inside of a boiler

13. Scaleverb

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

14. Scaleverb

    to scatter; to spread

15. Scaleverb

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

16. Scaleverb

    to separate and come off in thin layers or laminae; as, some sandstone scales by exposure

17. Scaleverb

    to separate; to scatter

18. Scalenoun

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

19. Scalenoun

    hence, anything graduated, especially when employed as a measure or rule, or marked by lines at regular intervals

20. Scalenoun

    a mathematical instrument, consisting of a slip of wood, ivory, or metal, with one or more sets of spaces graduated and numbered on its surface, for measuring or laying off distances, etc., as in drawing, plotting, and the like. See Gunter's scale

21. Scalenoun

    a series of spaces marked by lines, and representing proportionately larger distances; as, a scale of miles, yards, feet, etc., for a map or plan

22. Scalenoun

    a basis for a numeral system; as, the decimal scale; the binary scale, etc

23. Scalenoun

    the graduated series of all the tones, ascending or descending, from the keynote to its octave; -- called also the gamut. It may be repeated through any number of octaves. See Chromatic scale, Diatonic scale, Major scale, and Minor scale, under Chromatic, Diatonic, Major, and Minor

24. Scalenoun

    gradation; succession of ascending and descending steps and degrees; progressive series; scheme of comparative rank or order; as, a scale of being

25. Scalenoun

    relative dimensions, without difference in proportion of parts; size or degree of the parts or components in any complex thing, compared with other like things; especially, the relative proportion of the linear dimensions of the parts of a drawing, map, model, etc., to the dimensions of the corresponding parts of the object that is represented; as, a map on a scale of an inch to a mile

26. Scaleverb

    to climb by a ladder, or as if by a ladder; to ascend by steps or by climbing; to clamber up; as, to scale the wall of a fort

27. Scaleverb

    to lead up by steps; to ascend

28. Etymology: [L. scalae, pl., scala staircase, ladder; akin to scandere to climb. See Scan; cf. Escalade.]

Freebase(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Scale

   In most biological nomenclature, a scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection. In lepidopteran species, scales are plates on the surface of the insect wing, and provide coloration. Scales are quite common and have evolved multiple times with varying structure and function. Scales are generally classified as part of an organism's integumentary system. There are various types of scales according to shape and to class of animal.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Scale

   skāl, n. a ladder: series of steps: a graduated measure: (mus.) a series of all the tones ascending or descending from the keynote to its octave, called the gamut: the order of a numeral system: gradation: proportion: series.—v.t. to mount, as by a ladder: to ascend: to draw in true proportion: to measure logs: to decrease proportionally, as every part.—v.i. to lead up by steps: (Scot.) to disperse, to spill, to spread as manure.—ns. Scale′-board (print.), a thin slip of wood for extending a page to its true length, making types register, securing uniformity of margin, &c.; Scale′-pipette′, a tubular pipette with a graduated scale for taking up definite quantities of liquid; Scal′ing-ladd′er, a ladder used for the escalade of an enemy's fortress: a fireman's ladder: (her.) a bearing representing a ladder, with two hooks and two ferrules. [L. scala, a ladder—scandĕre, to mount.]

2. Scale

   skāl, n. one of the small, thin plates on a fish or reptile: a thin layer: a husk: the covering of the leaf-buds of deciduous trees: a piece of cuticle that is squamous or horny: a flake: an encrustation on the side of a vessel in which water is heated.—v.t. to clear of scales: to peel off in thin layers.—v.i. to come off in thin layers.—ns. Scale′-arm′our, armour consisting of scales of metal overlapping each other: plate-mail; Scale′-back, a marine worm covered with scales.—adjs. Scale′-bear′ing, having scales, as the sea-mice; Scaled, having scales: covered with scales.—ns. Scale′-dove, an American dove having the plumage marked as with scales; Scale′-fish, a dry cured fish, as the haddock; Scale′-foot, the scabbard-fish; Scale′-in′sect, any insect of the homopterous family Coccidæ.—adj. Scale′less, without scales, as the scaleless amphibians.—n. Scale′-moss, certain plants which resemble moss.—adj. Scale′-patt′ern, having a pattern resembling scales.—ns. Scale′-quail, an American quail having scale-like markings of the plumage; Scā′ler, one who makes a business of scaling fish: an instrument used by dentists in removing tartar.—adjs. Scale′-tailed, having scales on the under side of the tail; Scale′-winged, having the wings covered with minute scales, as a butterfly.—ns. Scale′-work, scales lapping over each other; Scale′-worm, a scale-back: Scal′iness, the state of being scaly: roughness; Scal′ing, the process of removing scales from a fish, or encrustations from the interior of a boiler; Scal′ing-fur′nace, a furnace in which plates of iron are heated for the purpose of scaling them, as in tinning.—adj. Scal′y, covered with scales: like scales: shabby: (bot.) formed of scales. [A.S. sceale, scale, the scale of a fish; Ger. schale, shell.]

3. Scale

   skāl, n. the dish of a balance: a balance, as to turn the scale—chiefly in pl.: (pl.) Libra, one of the signs of the zodiac.—v.t. to weigh, as in scales: to estimate.—ns. Scale′-beam, the beam or lever of a balance; Scale′-microm′eter, in a telescope, a graduated scale for measuring distances; Scāl′ing, the process of adjusting sights to a ship's guns.—Beam and scales, a balance; Gunter's scale, a scale for solving mechanically problems in navigation and surveying. [A.S. scále, a balance; Dut. schaal, Ger. schale; allied to preceding word.]

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. scale

   The ratio or fraction between the distance on a map, chart, or photograph and the corresponding distance on the surface of the Earth. See also conversion scale; graphic scale; photographic scale; principal scale.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. scale

   An old word for commercial emporium, derived from scala. Also, the graduated divisions by which the proportions of a chart or plan are regulated. Also, the common measures of the sheer-draught, &c. (See GUNTER'S LINE.)

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. scale

   To climb by a ladder, or as if by a ladder; to clamber up; as, to scale the ramparts.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. scale

   A size or range.

   The scale of the business was amazing and such an amazing team.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on February 27, 2020  

Entomology(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Scale

   a general term to distinguish Coccidae: specifically the puparium of a Diaspid, comprising exuviae and excreted matter: the waxy covering of a male Lecaniid: in Diptera = alula: q.v.

Matched Categories

1. • Bit
   • Climb Up
   • Indicator
   • Leaf
   • Magnitude Relation
   • Measure
   • Pattern
   • Proportion
   • Reach
   • Shield
   • Size
   • Take

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'scale' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1425

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'scale' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1367

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'scale' in Nouns Frequency: #526

Anagrams for scale »

1. casel

2. alces

How to pronounce scale?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say scale in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of scale in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of scale in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of scale in a Sentence

1. Peter Cardillo:

   A lot of the small investors may have gotten burnt, so it’s going to take time to heal that wound, it may not pop up in those stocks that were already attacked, but it could happen in other companies and maybe on a broader scale.

2. Catherine Barber:

   The scale is so huge for young black men – 90 per 100,000 for firearm homicides.

3. Takeshi Miyao:

   The plan appears to be to ultimately make Subaru a fully owned subsidiary, to help create a 'mega Toyota'. This is the first step towards that, it's all about building scale.

4. Marjory Van Den Broeke:

   There have been individual cases ... but this was an exception in that it was so large scale.

5. Catherine Barber:

   What’s so striking to me is the differential burden for young black men. You don’t see these sort of differentials in health data very often, the scale is so huge for young black men – 90 per 100,000 for firearm homicides.

Popularity rank by frequency of use