Background for scales

scales

/skeɪlz/

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noun

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

Examples :

"The company's career path provided clear scales of promotion, outlining the steps to reach a higher position. "

structure way device

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noun

An ordered, usually numerical sequence used for measurement, means of assigning a magnitude.

Examples :

"Please rate your experience on a scale from 1 to 10."

number math science

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noun

Examples :

"The Holocaust was insanity on an enormous scale."

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noun

The ratio of depicted distance to actual distance.

Examples :

"This map uses a scale of 1:10."

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noun

A line or bar associated with a drawing, used to indicate measurement when the image has been magnified or reduced.

Examples :

"The architect added scales to the blueprint so we could understand the actual size of the rooms. "

technical math art figure

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noun

A series of notes spanning an octave, tritave, or pseudo-octave, used to make melodies.

Examples :

"The piano student practiced her scales every day to improve her finger dexterity. "

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noun

A mathematical base for a numeral system; radix.

Examples :

"the decimal scale; the binary scale"

number math system

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noun

Gradation; succession of ascending and descending steps and degrees; progressive series; scheme of comparative rank or order.

Examples :

"The difficulty of the math problems increased in scales of complexity, starting with basic addition and ending with advanced calculus. "

degree system range number math quality structure

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noun

A standard amount of money to be received by a performer or writer, negotiated by a union.

Examples :

"The actor received scales for his work on the commercial, as agreed upon by the actors' union. "

entertainment job business economy media

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verb

To change the size of something whilst maintaining proportion; especially to change a process in order to produce much larger amounts of the final product.

Examples :

"We should scale that up by a factor of 10."

business technology economy process

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verb

To climb to the top of.

Examples :

"Hilary and Norgay were the first known to have scaled Everest."

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verb

To tolerate significant increases in throughput or other potentially limiting factors.

Examples :

"The company's new cloud infrastructure scales easily to handle the increased traffic during the holiday shopping season. "

technology computing business system

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verb

To weigh, measure or grade according to a scale or system.

Examples :

"The teacher scales the difficulty of homework assignments based on the students' current skill level. "

system business quality value

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noun

Part of an overlapping arrangement of many small, flat and hard pieces of keratin covering the skin of an animal, particularly a fish or reptile.

Examples :

"The snake's scales felt smooth and cool to the touch. "

animal body biology anatomy part organism

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noun

A small piece of pigmented chitin, many of which coat the wings of a butterfly or moth to give them their color.

Examples :

"The butterfly's wing shimmered because of the thousands of tiny scales that covered it. "

animal insect biology part appearance color

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noun

A flake of skin of an animal afflicted with dermatitis.

Examples :

"The dog's itchy skin left white scales on the furniture after he scratched. "

medicine animal disease body

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noun

Part of an overlapping arrangement of many small, flat and hard protective layers forming a pinecone that flare when mature to release pine nut seeds.

Examples :

"The pinecone opened, revealing its scales and releasing the seeds inside. "

plant part nature biology seed

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noun

The flaky material sloughed off heated metal.

Examples :

"After welding the gate, he brushed off the loose scales that had formed on the hot metal. "

material substance technical industry

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noun

Scale mail (as opposed to chain mail).

Examples :

"The knight wore a suit of scales, protecting his torso from sword blows. "

military wear weapon

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noun

Examples :

"The kettle had thick scales of limescale inside, so I cleaned it with vinegar. "

utility substance

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noun

A scale insect.

Examples :

"The gardener noticed small, brown scales clinging to the stems of the rose bushes. "

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noun

The thin metallic side plate of the handle of a pocketknife.

Examples :

"The scales on my grandfather's old pocketknife are made of smooth, dark wood. "

part utensil item material

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verb

To remove the scales of.

Examples :

"Please scale that fish for dinner."

food animal fish

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verb

To become scaly; to produce or develop scales.

Examples :

"The dry weather is making my skin scale."

organism biology animal

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verb

To strip or clear of scale; to descale.

Examples :

"to scale the inside of a boiler"

animal food fish

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verb

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

Examples :

"The dentist used a special tool to scales away the hardened plaque from my teeth. "

medicine body anatomy

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verb

To separate and come off in thin layers or laminae.

Examples :

"Some sandstone scales by exposure."

biology organism physiology

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verb

To scatter; to spread.

Examples :

"The wind scales the fallen leaves across the park, creating a colorful swirl. "

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verb

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

Examples :

"After a period of disuse, the artillery crew had to scale the cannon with a small charge before it could be fired safely again. "

military weapon

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noun

A device to measure mass or weight.

Examples :

"After the long, lazy winter I was afraid to get on the scale."

device utensil science physics thing

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noun

Either of the pans, trays, or dishes of a balance or scales.

Examples :

"The baker carefully placed flour in one of the scales and sugar in the other to measure equal amounts for the cake. "

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noun

A device for measuring weight.

Examples :

"The butcher put the sausages on the scales."