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.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of sliding scale

First recorded in 1700–10

Words nearby sliding scale

slideway, sliding, sliding fit, sliding friction, sliding rule, sliding scale, sliding seat, sliding vector, slier, sliest, slieve

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sliding scale in a sentence

In this case, the deal involved setting multiple KPIs around agreed-upon sales objectives and creating a sliding scale of comp for the agency.
Horizon Media agencies ply new ground with incentive-based deals tied to compensation|Michael Bürgi|July 30, 2021|Digiday
By that logic, Hand could live with lowered fastball velocity if it keeps moving on a sliding scale with his go-to breaking pitch.
Brad Hand thrived with lower velocity in 2020. With the Nats, he wants to bring back the heat.|Jesse Dougherty|January 26, 2021|Washington Post
Eligibility is determined on a sliding scale by annual income and family size, capped at $15,820 for a single person and $56,844 for a family with three or more children.
Hogan pitches $750 stimulus checks for Maryland’s poorest families|Erin Cox|January 12, 2021|Washington Post
Tuition is charged in relation to parent income by using a sliding scale, which Smiley says is part of their strategy in making sure Sora is an inclusive and diverse school.
With $2.7M in fresh funding, Sora hopes to bring virtual high school to the mainstream|Natasha Mascarenhas|October 2, 2020|TechCrunch

He suggested a blacklist of activities could be applied to dominant platforms with a sliding scale of penalties for non-compliance — up to and including the separation of some operations, according to the FT’s report.
Europe eyeing limits on how big tech can use data and bundle apps — reports|Natasha Lomas|September 30, 2020|TechCrunch
In France, parents pay for their childcare on a sliding scale based on their income—the rest is subsidized by the government.
Free Market Failure: Raising a Kid Is a Rigged Game in the USA|Monica Potts|August 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then, I grade each destination on each of those factors, on a sliding scale from “awful” to “ideal.”
ChoiceMap: An App to Help You Make Better Decisions|Brian Ries|January 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Most prisons issue incident reports on a sliding scale from 100 series (highest severity) to 400 series (lowest severity).
With Cigarettes Banned In Most Prisons, Gangs Shift From Drugs To Smokes|Seth Ferranti|June 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Thakor ran the numbers and showed me the results on a sliding scale that reflected a range of potential interest rates.
The Supreme Court's Cluelessness on Gender Bias|Leslie Bennetts|June 22, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Aid will be offered on a sliding scale—families making less would pay less.
What Is (and Isn't) in the Health-Care Bill|The Daily Beast|March 20, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Peremptorily the steel magnates refused to continue the sliding scale previously agreed upon as a guarantee of peace.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist|Alexander Berkman
The motion was seconded by Mr. Fielden, and supported by Mr. Aglionby, who declared the new sliding-scale was a delusion.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III.|E. Farr and E. H. Nolan
For three years there was to be a lowered duty on a sliding scale, and then the ports were to be opened entirely.
The World's Greatest Books, Vol X|Various
Brand rose and tapped the barometer, adjusting the sliding scale to read the tenths.
The Pillar of Light|Louis Tracy
The sliding scale aims at the establishment of a numerical ratio between the rate of wage and the price of coal.
The Theory and Policy of Labour Protection|Albert Eberhard Friedrich Schffle

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

Cultural 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.