scale

B1 · Intermediate Uncountable noun

n. the size, level, or importance of something, especially when it is large.

n. the relative size, extent, or degree of something. Often used in the phrase 'on a large scale'.

“The company began producing the new phone on a massive scale.”

“The humanitarian crisis was on such a vast scale that local authorities were quickly overwhelmed by the number of refugees.”

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun

n. a set of numbers or levels used to measure or compare things.

n. a graduated series of steps or values used for measurement or classification.

“On a scale of one to ten, how much does your head hurt?”

“The Richter scale provides a logarithmic measure of the total energy released during an earthquake.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun

n. the relationship between the size of a map and the real area it shows.

n. the ratio of the distance on a map or drawing to the corresponding distance in the real world.

Español:escala

“The map has a scale of one centimetre to one kilometre.”

“Without a clear scale on the architectural drawing, it was impossible to determine the actual dimensions of the living room.”

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun Music

n. a series of musical notes that go up or down in order.

n. a sequence of notes arranged in ascending or descending order of pitch, typically spanning an octave.

“The piano student practised her major scales for an hour every day.”

“The composer utilised a pentatonic scale to give the melody a distinct folk-like quality.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Science

n. one of the small, flat, hard pieces that cover the skin of fish and snakes.

n. one of the many small, overlapping rigid plates forming the protective outer covering of fish and reptiles.

“The fish had shiny silver scales that caught the light.”

“Biologists can often determine the age of certain fish species by examining the growth rings on their scales.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Literary

v. to climb up to the top of something very high and steep.

v. to climb up or over something high, steep, or difficult to reach. Transitive use.

Español:escalar

“The mountain climbers managed to scale the cliff before dark.”

“The soldiers used ladders to scale the castle walls during the midnight raid.”

C1 · Advanced Computing Technical

v. to change the size of something so it stays in the right proportion.

v. to adjust the size or capacity of a system or object proportionally. Often used in computing regarding performance.

“You can scale the image down so it fits on the page.”

“The cloud infrastructure was designed to scale automatically as user traffic increased during peak hours.”