scale

«scale» in Mova's school dictionary: a tool for weighing things — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (scale, scales); verb (scale, scales, scaled, scaling)

meaning for a pupil

1) A scale, or scales, is a tool for weighing things. tree →

2) A scale on a map or plan shows how real distances are made smaller: «1 cm stands for 1 km». tree →

3) A scale is a set of marks with numbers for measuring, like on a ruler or thermometer. tree →

4) Scales are the small hard plates on the skin of fish and snakes. tree →

5) A scale in music is notes going up or down in order. tree →

6) To scale a wall is to climb it. tree →

sense in the lessons

In school maths: weighing on a scale; reading a scale between marks; balance pans; a map scale (map length × scale = real distance); scale drawings. In science: reading scales on measuring jugs and thermometers; fish and reptile scales. In music: practising scales. Phrases: «on a scale of 1 to 10», «to scale», «large-scale», «kitchen scales».

examples

• The scale shows 5 kg. tree →
• On the map, 1 cm stands for 2 km. tree →
• Put the apples on the scale. tree →
• The scale balances. tree →
• Fish and snakes are covered in scales. tree →
• She practises her piano scales every day. tree →
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how much did you like the film? tree →
• The climbers scaled the cliff. tree →
• Will you lend me your best pair of scales?" tree →

note

«Scales» (plural) often means one weighing machine in the UK: «the kitchen scales». Maths: on a map scale, real distance = map length × scale. Read the marks between numbers carefully (each small mark may stand for 2, 5 or 10). Trap: a scale «balances» means both sides are equal.

In the corpora

• Shark skin is covered in tiny tooth-like scales called dermal denticles that help water flow smoothly, and some swimsuits copy them.
• Snakes have no eyelids; a clear scale covers each eye.
• The glasswing butterfly has clear patches on its wings with few scales, which makes it hard to see against leaves and flowers.
• Pangolins are among the most smuggled mammals, killed for scales that are only keratin and cure nothing.
• Hedgehog says «scales are a tremendous improvement on prickles».

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «scale» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.