1. In music: a sequence of notes in an established order beginning with one note followed by the next one which is higher than the previous one, usually reaching 8 notes in all: Before beginning to play her pieces, Grace had to practice her scales in C-major.
2. That which shows the ratio between the size of something on a plan or model and its size in the real world: The scale on the map is 1:1,000 and shows all the little roads in the area.
3. A listing of the salary or fees which someone gets paid: Greg was interested in what the government paid its teachers, so he checked the pay scale to see where he fit in with his monthly wages in comparison with the other teachers at his school.
4. A set of standards or positions which are used for measuring, rating, or comparing things: The therapist asked Susan to make checks on a scale of zero to ten, showing how satisfied she was with the progress of her therapy sessions.
5. Very small hard parts of the outer layer of a fish or reptile: The scales on the trout Becky saw in the stream glistened beautifully in the sunlight.
6: The device used for weighing people, food, animals, etc. (used only in the plural form): When Tom got on the scales in the bathroom, he was surprised that he had gained a few pounds!

1. To flake off or to chip off: The paint on the living room walls was scaling off so much that the room had to be repainted!
2. To scrap off the tartar from the teeth: It’s important for a dentist to scale a patient's teeth regularly in order for them to stay as healthy as possible.
3. To remove the small hard parts from an animal’s natural covering: To prepare the fish fillets for dinner, they have to be scaled and skinned perfectly and the inner organs must also be removed.

An arbitrary chronological arrangement of geological events: Normally a geological time scale is represented in the form of a chart, showing the names of various rock layers and indicating the estimated period of each geological unit of geological time.