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Glite Dictionary
📏 Measurement ℹ️ The facts 🪟 To adjust 📦 To sort 🧵 A stiffener 🎨 To coat
to size

to size

2 9.8
To put a glue-like liquid on cloth and paper to stiffen or seal them
  • verb
  • /saɪz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : aprestar
  • I was sizing a flat with hot glue, a tricky business if it wasn't to warp.

Examples

  • To ensure the fabric held its shape, she decided to size the material with a starch solution.

  • Before painting, the artist needs to size the canvas with a special glue to create a smooth surface.

  • When she got there, she stood for a minute beside the stretcher, sizing it up and girding herself.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • He learned how to size the paper correctly to prepare it for the intricate watercolors.

Idioms

on for size
4 6.8

To try something, like clothes, to see if it fits or works

to pick on someone your own size
  • Informal
4 6.1

Challenge someone of similar size or strength instead of someone weaker

size matters
  • Informal
6.9

How big something is changes how well it works in a situation

size of it
  • UK
6.8

A short way to say what the situation really is

Phrasal Verbs

to size up
28 3.8

To look at someone or something carefully to form an opinion

to cut down to size
  • Informal
3 6.7

To make someone less proud by showing they are not as good as they think

to adjust the size
1 3.3

Make something larger or smaller so it fits

Compounds

full-size
21 2.5

As large as the original or usual model

life-size
14 3.7

The same size as a real person or thing

one-size-fits-all
14 4.4

Made the same for everyone without any change

king-size
8 3.2

Extra large in size, like a very big bed or burger

queen-size
5 3.2

A bed or mattress size larger than a double and smaller than a king, about 60 by 80 inches

medium-size
3 2.3

Of a size between small and large

half-size
3 3.1

Measuring half the usual size

pint-size
  • Informal
1 4.4

Very small in height, usually used for a person or animal

size large
1 1.3

A clothing fit between medium and extra large

fun size
  • US
1 3.5

A small packet of a snack for one person

pocket-size
1 3.2

Small enough to fit in a pocket and easy to carry

point size
  • Specialized
1 4.8

How tall letters are in a font, from the lowest tail to the highest top

moderate-size
1 3.2

Larger than small but smaller than large

size queen
  • Slang
1 9.9

A person who prefers larger sizes when buying things like bags or TVs

coal size
  • Specialized
6.1

A grade of coal that depends on how big its pieces are

measly portion size
  • Informal
4.1

A very small amount of food that is less than you expect

point size
  • Specialized
3.4

How large the dots or markers appear on a graph

size stick
  • Specialized
7.5

A measuring tool used by shoe sellers to measure foot length and width

size constancy
  • Specialized
7.0

Seeing a familiar object as the same size even when distance makes it look smaller or larger

Surface Forms

size infinitive
sized past
sized past participle
sizing present participle
sizes third person singular

Etymology

Size (verb, to coat with size) comes from the noun size for the sticky substance, so to size a canvas is to put that substance on it to stiffen or seal the surface.