scale down

Idioms  

1. Reduce the size or cost of, as in The owners decided to scale down wages. This expression, along with the related scale up, which refers to an increase, alludes to scale in the sense of “a fixed standard.” [Late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scale down

"Altermagnets would make transport of information radically more efficient. That could allow technology to scale down and be less power consuming."

From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026

Moscow was forced to scale down its May 9th Victory Day parade, usually marked by a grand military show.

From Barron's ● May 17, 2026

"It's just really sad to see people scale down their talent and ambition and opportunity just based on cost, rather than their creative intention," she said.

From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026

Extreme weather conditions are causing severe disruptions to logistics operations across Europe, with cargo vessels sheltering and terminals forced to halt or scale down activity, Maersk said on Wednesday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026

Alexander had drawn a map of the nursery, tinted with watercolors and oriented according to the compass, with all the furniture drawn to scale, down to the last footstool.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• curtail
• cut
• cut down
• decrease
• depreciate
• devalue
• diminish
• downgrade
• knock off
• lessen
• pare
• slash
• soften