sliding scale
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noun
a variable scale, especially of industrial costs, as wages, that may be adapted to changes in demand.
a wage scale varying with the selling price of goods produced, the cost of living, or profits.
a price scale, as of medical fees, in which prices vary according to the ability of individuals to pay.
a tariff scale varying according to changing prices.
Nearby words
sliding fit, sliding flap, sliding friction, sliding hernia, sliding rule, sliding scale, sliding seat, sliding vector, slidingly, slier, sliest
Origin of sliding scale
First recorded in 1700–10
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for sliding scale
British Dictionary definitions for sliding scale
sliding scale
noun
a variable scale according to which specified wages, tariffs, prices, etc, fluctuate in response to changes in some other factor, standard, or conditions
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
Culture definitions for sliding scale
sliding scale
A set of rates that change according to a mathematical formula. The income tax, for example, is levied on a sliding scale, with the rich paying a higher percentage than the poor.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.