scale down

Idioms and Phrases

Reduce the size or cost of, as in The owners decided to scale down wages . This expression, along with the related scale up , which refers to an increase, alludes to scale in the sense of “a fixed standard.” [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

Several - including in Darfur, Sudan and Mali - have been closed, and others scaled down.

From BBC

The search had been scaled down during daylight hours - when the raccoons are expected to go to sleep.

From BBC

Although she works on a large scale, this required her to scale down.

From Los Angeles Times

Glasgow, which hosted the games in 2014, is now close to confirming a scaled down event featuring fewer sports.

From BBC

Glasgow hosted the Games in 2014, but the 2026 event would be scaled down after years of difficulty for the competition.

From BBC

Related Words

• curtail
• cut
• cut down
• decrease
• depreciate
• devalue
• diminish
• downgrade
• knock off
• lessen
• pare
• slash
• soften