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scalable

[skey-luh-buh l]
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adjective
  1. capable of being scaled: the scalable slope of a mountain.
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Origin of scalable

First recorded in 1570–80; scale3 + -able
Related formsscal·a·ble·ness, nounscal·a·bly, adverbun·scal·a·ble, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

extensibleexpandableexpansiblemodularadaptableflexibleinnovativemalleableductileplastictensileelastic

Examples from the Web for scalable

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I remembered that the cliff hereabouts was of no great height and scalable in a score of places.

    The Adventures of Harry Revel

    Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

  • Blake came down close to the intake, scanning every foot of the cliff face for a scalable break or crevice.

    Out of the Depths

    Robert Ames Bennet

British Dictionary definitions for scalable

scalable

adjective
  1. capable of being scaled or climbed
  2. computing (of a network) able to be expanded to cope with increased use
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Derived Formsscalableness, nounscalably, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for scalable

adj.

1570s, "able to be climbed;" see scale (v.1) + -able. From 1936 as "able to be graded by scale." Related: Scalably; scalability.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper