A plant disease or infestation caused by scale insects.
One of the many small platelike dermal or epidermal structures that characteristically form the external covering of fishes, reptiles, and certain mammals.
A similar part, such as one of the minute structures overlapping to form the covering on the wings of butterflies and moths.
Pathology A dry thin flake of epidermis shed from the skin.
A small thin piece.
Botany A small, thin, usually dry, often appressed plant structure, such as any of the protective leaves that cover a tree bud or the bract that subtends a flower in a sedge spikelet.
A flaky oxide film formed on a metal, as on iron, that has been heated to high temperatures.
A flake of rust.
A hard mineral coating that forms on the inside surface of boilers, kettles, and other containers in which water is repeatedly heated.
To clear or strip of scale or scales: Scale and clean the fish.
To remove in layers or scales: scaled off the old paint.
To cover with scales; encrust.
To throw (a thin flat object) so that it soars through the air or skips along the surface of water.
Dentistry To remove (tartar) from tooth surfaces with a pointed instrument.
Australian To cheat; swindle.
Australian To ride on (a tram or train, for example) without paying the fare.
To come off in scales or layers; flake.
To become encrusted.
A system of ordered marks at fixed intervals used as a reference standard in measurement: a ruler with scales in inches and centimeters.
An instrument or device bearing such marks.
A standard of measurement or judgment; a criterion.
A proportion used in determining the dimensional relationship of a representation to that which it represents: a world map with a scale of 1:4,560,000.
A calibrated line, as on a map or an architectural plan, indicating such a proportion.
Proper proportion: a house that seemed out of scale with its surroundings.