Dictionary
sliding scale
noun
: a system in which the amount that people are required to pay in fees, taxes, etc., changes according to different situations or conditions
Full Definition of SLIDING SCALE
1
: a wage scale geared to the selling price of the product or to the consumer price index but usually guaranteeing a minimum below which the wage will not fall
2
a : a system for raising or lowering tariffs in accord with price changes b : a flexible scale (as of fees or subsidies) adjusted to the needs or income of individuals <the sliding scale of medical fees>
See sliding scale defined for English-language learners
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First Known Use of SLIDING SCALE
1842
Rhymes with SLIDING SCALE
abigail, altar rail, armored scale, audit trail, aventail, beavertail, bristletail, button quail, clapper rail, coffin nail, Corriedale, cottontail, countervail, Coverdale, direct mail, disentail, draggle-tail, fairy tale, farthingale, fingernail, forestaysail, gaff-topsail, galingale, garage sale, ginger ale, Holy Grail, humpback whale, Irish mail, killer whale, macroscale, martingale, microscale, monorail, montadale, nanoscale, nightingale, Nightingale, old wives' tale, overscale, paper trail, pilot whale, ponytail, purple scale, romeldale, rummage sale, solar sail, studding sail, Sunnyvale, swallowtail, tattletale, tooth and nail, tripletail, trundle-tail, vapor trail, yellowtail
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