word-vault

{ "term": "scale", "partOfSpeech": "noun", "ox3000": true, "cefr": "b2", "image": "data/images/ba/bathroom.png", "definitions": [ { "senseNumber": 1, "definition": "the size or extent of something, especially when compared with something else", "sensetop": "on a … scalescale of something", "cefr": "b2", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "They entertain on a **large scale** *(= they hold expensive parties with a lot of guests)*.", "contextForm": "on a … scale" }, { "text": "Here was corruption on a **grand scale**." }, { "text": "On a global scale, 77 per cent of energy is created from fossil fuels." }, { "text": "Corporations are borrowing on a massive scale." }, { "text": "Western-style consumerism is unsustainable on a **global scale**." }, { "text": "Manufacturing is done on a small scale." }, { "text": "His work as a portrait painter is small in scale." }, { "text": "to achieve **economies of scale** in production *(= to produce many items so the cost of producing each one is reduced)*" }, { "text": "It was impossible to comprehend **the full scale** of the disaster.", "contextForm": "scale of something" }, { "text": "It was not until morning that **the sheer scale** of the damage could be seen *(= how great it was)*." }, { "text": "The **scale of the problem** is difficult to measure." }, { "text": "Do they always entertain on such a lavish scale?" }, { "text": "It is difficult to comprehend the sheer scale of the suffering caused by the war." }, { "text": "The dolls are now produced on a commercial scale." }, { "text": "They plan to expand the scale and scope of their operations." }, { "text": "We need to determine the scale of the problem." }, { "text": "a misuse of presidential power on an unprecedented scale" }, { "text": "pollution on a massive scale" }, { "text": "What if a global scale catastrophe happens?" } ], "topics": ["Maths and measurement"], "collocations": { "adjective": ["full", "big", "considerable"], "verb + scale": ["expand", "increase", "reduce"], "preposition": ["scale of", "in scale", "on a scale"], "phrases": ["an economy of scale", "given the scale of"] } }, { "senseNumber": 2, "definition": "a range of levels or numbers used for measuring something", "cefr": "b2", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "a five-point pay scale" }, { "text": "to evaluate performance on a scale from 1 to 10" }, { "text": "The salary scale goes from £12 000 to £20 000." }, { "text": "a scale of charges" }, { "text": "Use the following scale to rate each item." }, { "text": "After ten years, she had worked her way to the top of the pay scale." }, { "text": "Please see the attached sheet for our scale of fees." }, { "text": "On a scale of 1 to 10, he scores 7." }, { "text": "Patients were asked to state their level of anxiety on a 10-point rating scale." }, { "text": "On the response sheet, the scale of answers ranged from ‘excellent’ to ‘extremely poor’." }, { "text": "There is an ascending scale of penalties for traffic offences." } ], "topics": ["Maths and measurement"], "collocations": { "adjective": ["fixed", "sliding", "five-point"], "verb + scale": ["use", "construct", "develop"], "scale + verb": ["go from… to…", "range from… to…", "be based on"], "preposition": ["on a/the scale", "scale of… to…"], "phrases": [ "the bottom of the scale", "the end of the scale", "the top of the scale" ] } }, { "senseNumber": 3, "definition": "the set of all the different levels of something, from the lowest to the highest", "cefr": "b2", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "**At the other end of the scale**, life is a constant struggle to get enough to eat." }, { "text": "You're higher on the social scale than I am." }, { "text": "Farm workers were always considered to be low down on the social scale." }, { "text": "At what point on the evolutionary scale do birds come?" }, { "text": "At the bottom end of the scale, there are people living on under a dollar a day." }, { "text": "He has risen up the social scale from rather humble beginnings." } ], "collocations": { "adjective": ["fixed", "sliding", "five-point"], "verb + scale": ["use", "construct", "develop"], "scale + verb": ["go from… to…", "range from… to…", "be based on"], "preposition": ["on a/the scale", "scale of… to…"], "phrases": [ "the bottom of the scale", "the end of the scale", "the top of the scale" ] } }, { "senseNumber": 4, "definition": "a series of marks at regular points on an instrument that is used for measuring", "cefr": "b2", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "How much does it read on the scale?" }, { "text": "He read the altitude in degrees off the scale." } ], "topics": ["Maths and measurement"] }, { "senseNumber": 5, "definition": "an instrument for weighing people or things", "labels": "North American English also(figurative)", "cefr": "b2", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "**bathroom/kitchen/weighing scales**" }, { "text": "the **scales of justice** *(= represented as the two pans on a )" } ], "topics": ["Maths and measurement", "Cooking and eating"] }, { "senseNumber": 6, "definition": "the relation between the actual size of something and its size on a map, diagram or model that represents it", "sensetop": "to scale", "cefr": "b2", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "a scale of 1:25 000" }, { "text": "a **scale model/drawing**" }, { "text": "Both plans are drawn to the same scale." }, { "text": "Is this diagram to scale? *(= are all its parts the same size and shape in relation to each other as they are in the thing represented)*", "contextForm": "to scale" }, { "text": "He's made a scale model of the Eiffel Tower." }, { "text": "The map has a scale of one centimetre to the kilometre." }, { "text": "The plan of the building is not drawn to scale." } ], "topics": ["Maths and measurement"], "collocations": { "verb + scale": ["draw something to", "have"], "scale + noun": ["drawing", "model"], "preposition": ["to scale", "scale of… to…"] } }, { "senseNumber": 7, "definition": "a series of musical notes moving upwards or downwards, with fixed intervals between each note, especially a series of eight starting on a particular note", "cefr": "c1", "examples": [ { "text": "the scale of C major" }, { "text": "to practise scales on the piano" } ], "topics": ["Music"], "collocations": { "adjective": ["major", "minor"], "verb + scale": ["play", "sing", "practise/practice"], "preposition": ["scale of"] } }, { "senseNumber": 8, "definition": "any of the thin plates of hard material that cover the skin of many fish and reptiles", "cefr": "c1", "examples": [ { "text": "The beast was a dragon, with great purple and green scales." } ], "topics": ["Fish and shellfish", "Animals"], "collocations": { "adjective": ["overlapping", "fine", "thin"], "verb + scale": ["be covered in", "be covered with"] } }, { "senseNumber": 9, "definition": "a hard white substance that is sometimes left inside water pipes and containers for heating water", "labels": "British English also", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": 10, "definition": "a hard substance that forms on teeth, especially when they are not cleaned regularly", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to affect the result of something in one way rather than another", "examples": [ { "text": "In an interview, smart presentation can tip the scales in your favour." }, { "text": "New evidence tipped the balance against the prosecution." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to weigh a particular amount", "examples": [ { "text": "He tipped the scales at just over 80 kilos." } ] } ], "pronunciations": { "uk": [ { "pronunciation": "/skeɪl/", "audio": "sc/scale/scale__gb_1.mp3" } ], "us": [ { "pronunciation": "/skeɪl/", "audio": "sc/scale/scale__us_1.mp3" } ] }, "wordOrigin": "noun senses 1 to 4 and noun senses 6 to 7 late Middle English: from Latin scala ‘ladder’ (the verb via Old French escaler or medieval Latin scalare ‘climb’), from the base of Latin scandere ‘to climb’. noun sense 5 Middle English (in the sense ‘drinking cup’, surviving in South African English): from Old Norse skál ‘bowl’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch schaal, German Schale ‘bowl’, also to English dialect shale ‘dish’. noun senses 8 to 10 Middle English: shortening of Old French escale, from the Germanic base of scale (noun - sense 5)." }