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

Ministers will have to decide whether to press ahead regardless of the controversy, or scale down what they hope to achieve.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

"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

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

US officials said that the direct-to-consumer channel will see costs of injectable GLP-1s start at an average of $350 per month, and that this should scale down over time.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2025

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