scale

1. scale (noun) — sense 1

Definition: A ladder; a series of steps; a means of ascending.

2. scale (noun) — sense 2

Definition: An ordered, usually numerical sequence used for measurement; means of assigning a magnitude.

Example: Please rate your experience on a scale from 1 to 10.

3. scale (noun) — sense 3

Definition: Size; scope.

Example: There are some who question the scale of our ambitions.

4. scale (verb) — sense 4

Definition: 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.

Example: We should scale that up by a factor of 10.

5. scale (verb) — sense 5

Definition: To climb to the top of.

Example: Hilary and Norgay were the first known to have scaled Everest.

6. scale (verb) — sense 6

Definition: To tolerate significant increases in throughput or other potentially limiting factors.

Example: That architecture won't scale to real-world environments.