- Scale
- A bank that offers to pay different rates of interest on CDs of varying rates is said to "post a scale." Commercial paper dealers also post scales. The New York Times Financial Glossary
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1. [singular, uncountable] the size or level of something, especially when this is large:scale of• No-one had anticipated the scale of the redundancies (= that there would be so many ) .
• We need to recycle plastics on a much bigger scale.
2. diseconomies of scale [plural] ECONOMICS the disadvantages that a big factory, shop etc has compared with a smaller one, for example because it is more difficult to run a larger production unit:• Over a period of decades, output becomes less profitable as diseconomies of scale arise.
3. economies of scale [plural] ECONOMICS the advantages that a big factory, shop etc has over a smaller one because it can spread its fixed cost S over a larger number of units and therefore produce or sell things more cheaply:• Joint production ventures allow for greater economies of scale.
4. [countable] a list of figures used for measuring and comparing amounts:scale of• a progressive scale of tax rates
• Managers gave their opinion of the bond markets, ranked on a scale of one to ten.
• the company pay scale
a scale showing the rates of pay for employees working at each level of an organization. It also shows the increases in pay an employee gets when they spend a certain length of time at a particular level; = pay spine Bre:• Geoff is almost at the top of his salary scale.
• The company's policy is to emphasize job security and incremental pay scales (= salaries that increase in stages ) .
ˌsliding ˈscale [countable]a system for paying tax, wages etc in which the rates that you pay are different, dependent upon changing conditions:• Water rates will be raised on a sliding scale.
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scale UK US /skeɪl/ noun► [S or U] the size or level of something, especially when this is large: the scale of sth »We failed to recognize the scale of the problem.
»on a large/small scale.
»on a global/national/international scale
► [C] MEASURES a set of numbers, amounts, etc. used to measure or compare the level of something: on a scale of 1 to 10/zero to 100, etc. »How would you rate his work on a scale of 1 to 5?
»at the top/bottom of the scale
► [C or U] GRAPHS & CHARTS the relation between the real size of something and its size on a map, model, or diagram: to scale »The map is drawn to scale.
»a scale drawing/model
► also UK scales) a piece of equipment for weighing things or people: »The mail is weighed on a scale.
→ See also DISECONOMIES OF SCALE(Cf. ↑diseconomies of scale), ECONOMIES OF SCALE(Cf. ↑economies of scale), LARGE-SCALE(Cf. ↑large-scale), PAY SCALE(Cf. ↑pay scale), SALARY SCALE(Cf. ↑salary scale), SLIDING SCALE(Cf. ↑sliding scale), SMALL-SCALE(Cf. ↑small-scale), TIMESCALE(Cf. ↑timescale), WAGE SCALE(Cf. ↑wage scale)
Financial and business terms. 2012.