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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 asâŠ
Origin of sliding scale
First recorded in 1700â10
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
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.
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.