Scale

• scale
• 1

  size/level

  [singular, uncountable] the size or level of something, or the amount that something is happening
• scale of
• We had underestimated the scale of the problem.
• on a large/small/grand etc scale
• There has been housing development on a massive scale since 1980.
• Most alternative technologies work best on a small scale.
• A structural survey revealed the full scale of the damage.
• I was shocked by the sheer scale (=very big scale) of the destruction.
• on a global/international/world scale
• Pollution could cause changes to weather patterns on a global scale.
• Large firms benefit from economies of scale (=ways of saving money because they are big).
• 2

  range

  [countable usually singular] a whole range of different types of people or things, from the lowest level to the highest:
• Some rural schools have 50 pupils, while at the other end of the scale are city schools with nearly 5,000 pupils.
• up/down the scale
• She gradually made her way up the social scale.
• animals which are lower down the evolutionary scale (=the range of animals that have developed gradually over a long time)
• 3

  for weighing

  scales

  [plural] British Englishscale American English a machine for weighing people or objects:
• a set of kitchen scales
• some new bathroom scales (=scales that you use to weigh yourself)
• 4

  measuring system

  [countable] a system of numbers that is used for measuring the amount, speed, quality etc of something
• on a scale
• The earthquakes measured 7 on the Richter scale.
• changes to the company's pay scale
• Your performance will be judged on a scale of 1 to 10.
• We use a sliding scale (=in which prices are not firmly fixed) for charges.
• 5

  measuring marks

  [countable] a set of marks with regular spaces between them on a tool that is used for measuring, or on the side of a mathematical drawing:
• a ruler with a metric scale
• 6

  map/model

  [uncountable and countable] the relationship between the size of a map, drawing, or model and the actual size of the place or thing that it represents:
• a map with a scale of 1:250,000
• to scale
• All our models are made to scale.
• scale model/drawing etc (=one done using a strict scale)
• a scale drawing of the Eiffel Tower
• 7

  music

  [countable] a series of musical notes that become higher or lower, with fixed distances between each note:
• the scale of G major
• 8

  fish

  [countable usually plural] one of the small flat pieces of skin that cover the bodies of fish, snakes etc
• 9

  teeth

  [uncountable] British English a white substance that forms on your teeth
• 10

  water pipes

  [uncountable] a white substance that forms around the inside of hot water pipes or containers in which water is boiled
• 11

  the scales fell from somebody's eyes

  literary used to say that someone suddenly realized something important
• ➔ full-scale

Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.