Okuzeka
Civil Engineering & Construction vocabulary · Drawings and Specifications

Scale

Meaning in civil engineering & construction, with examples

/skeɪl/nounCore term

In civil engineering & construction, scale means: The ratio between the size of something on a drawing and its real size. At 1:100, one centimetre on paper represents one metre on site.

In Turkish: ölçek

How it is used

Scales are written 1:50, 1:100 or 1:500 and read 'one to fifty'. Drawings are drawn to scale or marked NTS (not to scale), and details use larger scales such as 1:10 or 1:5.

Example sentences

  1. Don't scale off this drawing; use the written dimensions.

  2. The site plan is at 1:500 and the details are at 1:20 scale.

Common collocations

  • drawn to scale
  • not to scale
  • scale bar
  • at a scale of 1:100
  • large-scale detail
  • drawingA scaled technical picture of a structure or part of it, such as a plan, section or detail, that shows the builder what to construct and where.
  • planA drawing that shows a building or site from directly above, as if cut horizontally, with its walls, columns, rooms and dimensions.
  • sectionA drawing that shows a structure as if it had been cut vertically along a line, revealing its heights, layers and internal parts.
  • toleranceThe amount by which a dimension, level or position is allowed to differ from the value on the drawing, such as ±10 mm.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Drawings and Specifications

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: