scale down

verb

To reduce the size of something whilst maintaining proportion.

Similar
scale backreduce
Opposite
scale upscale out
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbscale down (third-person singular simple present scales down, present participle scaling down, simple past and past participle scaled down)

present singular third person scales down · participle present scaling down · participle past scaled down · past scaled down

  1. transitiveTo reduce the size of something whilst maintaining proportion.

    Antonyms: scale up

  2. transitiveTo reduce the cost or scope of a process, or the amount spent on something.

    Synonyms: scale back · Antonyms: scale up, scale out

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo reduce the size of something whilst maintaining proportion.

Opposite
scale up

verbTo reduce the cost or scope of a process, or the amount spent on something.

Similar
scale back
Opposite
scale upscale out

More synonyms by meaning

verbreduce proportionally

Opposite
scale up
Broader
rescaleproportion

verbmake smaller

Similar
reduce
Broader
shrinkreduce
Also see
reducescale back

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

scale down. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scale%20down

MLA

“scale down.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scale%20down. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scale down,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scale%20down.

Source: scale down on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.