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- pronunciation:
- skeIl
- features:
- Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition 1: |
A scale is a series of steps or degrees from low to high. For example, when someone describes how strong an earthquake is, they often use a scale that uses numbers from 1 to 9. An earthquake measured as a 1 on this scale is a mild earthquake that doesn't cause much damage to an area. An earthquake measured as a 7 on this scale causes a lot of damage, and an earthquake measured as a 9 causes complete destruction. There are other scales for measuring earthquakes too.
The United States uses a scale called the Fahrenheit scale for measuring temperature. On this scale, 32 degrees is the temperature at which water freezes, and 212 degrees is the temperature at which water boils. Other countries around the world usually use a scale called the Celsius scale. On this scale, water freezes at zero degrees and boils at 100 degrees. Because the scales are so different, a cold temperature number on one scale can be a hot temperature number on another. For example, if it's 26 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale, you'd probably be wearing a warm jacket, but if it's 26 degrees on the Celsius scale, you might be wearing shorts and a T-shirt. |
| definition 2: |
Scale is the size or level of something, especially compared with other things of the same type.
My mom grows potatoes in her small garden, but potato farmers grow potatoes on a much bigger scale.The small-scale experiment with the new medicine was successful, so the researchers are trying out the medicine with a much larger group of people now.- synonyms:
- degree, grade
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| definition 3: |
Things like maps and models are made according to something called "scale." Models and maps are not the same size as things in real life, so scale is a way to represent the size of things correctly but with everything made much smaller (or sometimes much bigger). Let's say that, on your map, one inch represents 100 miles. This means that one inch for every 100 miles is the scale that your map uses to show distance and size.
Damon's uncle is making a model car. It's going to be only ten inches long when it's done, but it will look exactly like the real car because the model was designed according to scale. |
| definition 4: |
A scale is a particular set of musical tones going up in pitch one after another or going down in pitch one after another. Typical scales that music students practice have eight notes each.
I need to practice my scales before my piano lesson. |
| related words: |
degree, level |
| derivation: |
scaler (n.) |
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