sliding scale

American  

noun

1. a variable scale, especially of industrial costs, as wages, that may be adapted to changes in demand.

2. a wage scale varying with the selling price of goods produced, the cost of living, or profits.

3. a price scale, as of medical fees, in which prices vary according to the ability of individuals to pay.

4. a tariff scale varying according to changing prices.

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sliding scale British  

noun

1. a variable scale according to which specified wages, tariffs, prices, etc, fluctuate in response to changes in some other factor, standard, or conditions

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sliding scale Cultural  

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of sliding scale

First recorded in 1700–10

Example Sentences

There are also free and discounted clinics around the country that might charge nothing or offer fees on a sliding scale based on income.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

Families generally pay the rest of their child care center costs on a sliding scale.

From Salon • Mar. 20, 2026

It also capped plaintiffs’ attorney’s fees on a sliding scale, to as little as 21% on recoveries of six figures or more.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2026

The pandemic-era enhanced credit further cut out-of-pocket costs, paying more along the sliding scale and also also temporarily lifting the credit’s income cutoff, also known as the subsidy cliff.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 13, 2025

There might even be a sliding scale, with perfect numbers selling at a premium and prime numbers going for more than nonperfect composite numbers, etc.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos