Thesaurus results for SCALES

scales 1 of 4

noun (1)

plural of scale

as in balances

a device for measuring weight I hate getting on the bathroom scale

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

scales

2 of 4

noun (2)

plural of scale

as in plates

a small thin piece of material that resembles an animal scale scales of mica were embedded in the granite

Synonyms & Similar Words

scales

3 of 4

noun (3)

plural of scale

as in hierarchies

a scheme of rank or order a student who scored very highly on a standard intelligence scale

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in ranges

the distance or extent between possible extremes with the scale going from one to ten, what did you think of the movie?

Synonyms & Similar Words

scales

4 of 4

verb

present tense third-person singular of scale

as in measures

to find out the size, extent, or amount of scaled the logs to get a rough idea of the amount of usable lumber they were likely to yield

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of scales

Noun

Nevertheless, taking all these results together, researchers who still believe the wave function must collapse at macroscopic scales appear to be walking on thin ice. — Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026 Atmospheric fluctuations on shorter weekly or daily scales, such as sudden stratospheric warming events, polar vortex disruptions, or shifts in the Arctic Oscillation, can temporarily override the overarching El Niño pattern. — Ahmad Bajjey, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026 But even those examples fall far short of the sort of figures that would tilt the scales in any outcomes. — ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026 However, drones are seen as a threat on all scales of the combat spectrum, including to individual infantry soldiers targeted by what are basically flying grenades. — New Atlas, 15 Oct. 2026 How long can a country punch above its weight before someone needs to check the scales? — Jan Larsson, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026 Trump is shown clutching a golf club in one hand and the scales of justice in the other. — News Desk, Artforum, 8 Oct. 2026 Physicists have risen to meet this challenge by employing specialized materials at industrial scales. — Doug Cowen, The Conversation, 8 Oct. 2026 The most promising versions will then be produced at larger scales and incorporated into membrane systems. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2026

Verb

Whoever scales the product should have lived through selling it. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026 The HomePower 2000 Plus v2 is built on that philosophy, with a 2,048Wh LiFePO4 battery, a 2,400W inverter, 10ms UPS capability, and an expandable design that scales up to 12kWh. — Michael Lydick, PC Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026 With technology companies that have already demonstrated strong top-line growth, one of the most important things to watch is what happens to the incremental dollar of revenue as the company scales. — Kevin Simpson, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026 Continue reading … REALITY SETS IN — Seattle's socialist mayor scales back on campaign promises amid public safety concerns. — FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026 This is because the difficulty of computing the wave function scales exponentially with bigger molecules. — Sophya Garashchuk, The Conversation, 1 Oct. 2026 Drone battery output scales The converted production line will add to Amprius’ existing manufacturing network spanning the United States, South Korea and China. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 28 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scales

Noun

Under the latest proposal that trustees will vote on, schools with smaller cash balances would contribute less toward an emergency fund used to help struggling institutions.

— CBS News, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
The collection balances shaping, comfort and style in equal measure, including such staples as stretchy-fit basics, a relaxed denim jacket and high-rise wide-leg jean, among others.

— Julia Teti, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of balances

Noun

And so one New Year’s Day, when Andrews and her friends set out on a tour of the area’s Chinese restaurants, the men—unbeknownst to her—collected a few plates here and a few cups there.

— Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
Its counters are crowded with plants and flowers in various states of decay, stacks of plates, fruit and Venezuelan snacks like tins of Pirulin cookies, all styled like a Dutch still life.

— Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of plates

Noun

How far might a nation go that had no kings to depose, no entrenched hierarchies to uproot, a country so young and iconoclastic and resource-rich?

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
To navigate this acceleration, leadership must shift from rigid hierarchies to horizontal agility—partnering across boundaries to follow the fluid flow of value.

— Stephanie Kramer, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of hierarchies

Noun

What emerges is a picture of migratory birds that is both more complicated and more remarkable than the simple arrows pointing between breeding and wintering ranges on a map.

— Amy L. Scarpignato, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026
Her shoe wardrobe ranges from classic block-heel ballerinas to whimsical dainty sandals adorned with lemons.

— Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of ranges

Verb

This year, the company launched the FinWhale Smart Chlorine Dispenser, a free-floating device that continuously measures free chlorine and pH in the water.

— Hannah Singleton, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
The carrier measures approximately 280 metres in length and 73 metres across its flight deck.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of measures

Noun

Besides a basic image scan, the files also captured the images in the infrared and ultraviolet spectrums.

— Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 2 Sep. 2026
The consensus seems to be that these bizarre objects, which were first discovered in 2022, are growing supermassive black holes entombed within huge clouds of gas that have spectrums similar to cool, red stars, such as red giants.

— Keith Cooper, Space.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of spectra

Verb

Another neat trick this TV has up its sleeve is an AI light sensor that gauges the room's ambient light and automatically adjusts the screen brightness to it.

— Kelsey Fogarty, PC Magazine, 21 Aug. 2026
San Diego earned a 78 out of 100 Redfin Compete Score, which gauges how competitive a market is.

— Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 16 July 2026

Definition of gauges

Browse Nearby Words

scalelike

scales

scaling

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Scales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scales. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of scales

noun (1)

noun (2)

noun (3)

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes