full-scale
Americanadjective
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having the exact size or proportions of the original.
a full-scale replica.
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using all possible means, facilities, etc.; complete.
The factory will commence full-scale operation next month.
noun
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(of a plan, etc) of actual size; having the same dimensions as the original
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done with thoroughness or urgency; using all resources; all-out
Etymology
Origin of full-scale
First recorded in 1930–35
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He said Target’s turnaround appeared to be working, but that it needed to “move on from triage to full-scale growth.”
From MarketWatch • May 20, 2026
"Despite considerable work to reduce costs and reshape the model, as a board we have ultimately reached the conclusion that delivering a full-scale carnival in 2026 is not viable," they said.
From BBC • May 12, 2026
The Italian lender, which is among the few European banks with a sizable exposure to Russia, kept its business in the country after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine but committed to shrink its presence there.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
Since taking power in 2012, Xi has used anticorruption purges to consolidate control and advance plans to modernize a military that hasn’t fought a full-scale war since 1979, when China battled Vietnam.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
France, England, and other countries skirmished throughout the first half of the eighteenth century, and roughly a quarter century after Newton died, a full-scale war erupted.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
