Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

scale back

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.80 in modern English

Syllables: scale back
IPA

19

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To make a reduction in the amount, extent, etc. of something.

Example Sentences

"I scaled back my hours to be with the kids more."
"The TSSA said that access to the furlough scheme should be reinstated for the cross-Channel operator to protect jobs, while the RMT said a financial 'safety net' was needed to prevent Eurostar "tipping over". It follows similar but unheeded calls made at the very start of the pandemic, when international travel fell by more than 95% and Eurostar was forced to scale back its operation to just one service between London and Paris each day."

Inflected Forms

scales back (present, singular) scaling back (participle, present) scaled back (participle, past) scaled back (past)

Derived Forms

scaleback

Synonyms

scale down

Antonyms

scale up scale out

Questions

What does scale back mean?: To make a reduction in the amount, extent, etc. of something.

How to pronounce scale back

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “scale back”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “scale back”.
Repeat and practice — Say “scale back” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.