scaling

Verb

scale (third-person singular simple present scales, present participle scaling, simple past and past participle scaled)

1. (transitive) To change the size of something whilst maintaining proportion; especially to change a process in order to produce much larger amounts of the final product.
   • We should scale that up by a factor of 10.
2. (transitive) To climb to the top of.
   • Hilary and Norgay were the first known to have scaled Everest.
3. (intransitive) To tolerate significant increases in throughput or other potentially limiting factors.
   • That architecture won't scale to real-world environments.
4. (computing or systems engineering) To handle heavily increasing loads without breaking down.
   • We started using the term “scaling” in place of “growing” around the late 1990s to early 2000s, primarily due to the rise of venture-backed startups in Silicon Valley. The term migrated from tech/infrastructure (“can this system scale?”) to startups (“can this business scale?”)May 12, 2025, Sarah Levinger, Post of "X" (formerly "Twitter")
5. (marketing and venture management, coordinate term to "grow") To increase revenues exponentially without proportional increases in costs.
   • We started using the term “scaling” in place of “growing” around the late 1990s to early 2000s, primarily due to the rise of venture-backed startups in Silicon Valley. [...] VCs needed a way to describe businesses that could grow exponentially without adding proportional headcount or expense. So...May 12, 2025, Sarah Levinger, Post of "X" (formerly "Twitter")
6. (transitive) To weigh, measure or grade according to a scale or system.
   • Scaling his present bearing with his past.c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...

See all 34 meanings of scale