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scale2 [transitive]
1 to climb to the top of something that is high and difficult to climb :
Rescuers had to scale a 300m cliff to reach the injured climber.
Rescuers had to scale a 300m cliff to reach the injured climber.2 technical to make writing or a picture the right size for a particular purpose
3 to be extremely successful :
By the age of 21 he had already scaled the heights in the academic world.
scale the heights
By the age of 21 he had already scaled the heights in the academic world.scale something ↔ down/back
phrasal verb
The emergency aid programme has now been scaled down.scale something ↔ up
phrasal verb
Production at the factory is being scaled up.