balance
/ˈbæləns/
balance noun: a state in which opposing forces harmonise; equilibrium.
Noun
balance (countable and uncountable, plural balances)
- A state in which opposing forces harmonise; equilibrium.
- But civilized man is quite a different animal, and when he wipes out an entire city or levels a forest, he is no longer working within the natural balance of things.1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 196
- Synonyms:
- equilibrium
- Mental equilibrium; mental health; calmness, a state of remaining clear-headed and unperturbed.
- Something of equal weight used to provide equilibrium; counterweight.
- These weights are used as a balance for the overhanging verandah.
- Blair thought he could provide a useful balance to Bush's policies.
- A pair of scales.
- Synonyms:
- pair of scales, set of scales, scales, weighing machine, weighbridge
- Awareness of both viewpoints or matters; neutrality; rationality; objectivity.
- Synonyms:
- disinterest, even-handedness, fairness, impartiality, neutrality, nonpartisanship
- The overall result of conflicting forces, opinions etc.; the influence which ultimately "weighs" more than others.
- The balance of power finally lay with the Royalist forces.
- I think the balance of opinion is that we should get out while we're ahead.
- Apparent harmony in art (between differing colours, sounds, etc.).
- A list accounting for the debits on one side, and for the credits on the other.
- Synonyms:
- account
- The result of such a procedure; the difference between credit and debit of an account.
- I just need to nip to a bank and check my balance.
- A device used to regulate the speed of a watch, clock etc.
- The remainder.
- The balance of the agreement remains in effect.
- The invoice said he had only paid $50. The balance was $220.
- Libra.
Verb
balance (third-person singular simple present balances, present participle balancing, simple past and past participle balanced)
- To bring (items) to an equipoise, as the scales of a balance by adjusting the weights.
- Synonyms:
- equilibrate
- To move while remaining balanced on a narrow or precarious support (e.g., a wire, ledge or rope).
- She balanced along the wire while the crowd watched in rapt attention.
- They must balance themselves down the fence until they reach the end.
- To make (concepts) agree.
- the Proteus Principle helps to qualify and balance the concepts of narrators and of narrative situations as previously developed in classical studies by G erard Genette and Franz Stanzel.2014, Peter Melville Logan, Olakunle George, Susan Hegeman, The Encyclopedia of the Novel
- To hold (an object or objects) precariously; to support on a narrow base, so as to keep from falling.
- I balanced my mug of coffee on my knee.
- The circus performer balances a plate on the end of a baton.
- To compare in relative force, importance, value, etc.; to estimate.
- Ballance the Good and Evil of Things.1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC
- Mr. Morrison's ruling to reopen the station as a shelter was given after he had balanced the relative dangers of flooding and bombing.1941 September, Charles E. Lee, “Sheltering in London Tube Stations”, in Railway Magazine, page 389
- To move toward, and then back from, reciprocally.
- to balance partners
- To contract, as a sail, into a narrower compass.
- to balance the boom mainsail
- To make the credits and debits of (an account) correspond.
- to balance a set of books
- This final payment, or credit, balances the account.
- To be in equilibrium.
- To have matching credits and debits.
- To weigh in a balance.
- To hesitate or fluctuate.
Proper noun capitalized: Balance
the Balance
- The constellation and zodiacal sign Libra.
- Libra, or the Balance holdeth in the Navel, the Reins, and the lower parts of the Womb.1668, ‘Godfridus’, The Knowledge of Things Unknown, London: G.P. for G. Sawbridge, page 20
- The Balance shows redemption’s need;
The Scorpion wounds He must endure;
The Archer tells His coming sure;
The Goat, His death in sacrifice[.]1862, [Frances Rolleston], Mazzaroth, or, The Constellations: Part III, London: Rivingtons, page 7
balance meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
balance in Hindi
- balance, scales
- तराज़ू tarāzū, तुला tulā
- balance, equilibrium, equipoise
- संतुलन santulan
- balance, scale
- काँटा kā̃ṭā
balance in Tamil
- தராசு, மீதி, கையிருப்பு, சமநிலை, நிறைநிலை, துலாக்கோல்
balance in Marathi
- balance, scales
- तुला tulā
- balance
- तराजू tarājū, शिल्लक śillak
- balance, equilibrium, equipoise
- समतोल samatōl
balance in Urdu
- balance
- ترازو tarāzū, میزان mīzān, تلا tulā, تول tol, اعتدال i'tidāl
- to balance
- تولنا tolnā
- balance, scales, weighing machine
- پیمانہ paimāna
More languagesFewer languages
- balance in Bengali
- তুলা tula, তরাজূ toraju, মীজান mījan, মিজান mijan
- balance in Telugu
- తులాదండము tulādaṇḍamu, తుల tula
- balance in Malayalam
- ബാലൻസ് bālaṉsŭ
- balance in Kannada
- ಬಾಕಿ bāki
- balance in Punjabi
- باقی bāqī, ਬਾਕ਼ੀ bāqī
- balance in Gujarati
- તુલા tulā, કાંટો kā̃ṭo
- balance in Sanskrit
- तुला tulā́, धरिमन् dhariman, कक्षा kakṣā
- balance in Assamese
- তুলা tula, বাকী baki
- balance in Nepali
- बाँकी bā̃kī, मिल्नु milnu
- balance in Arabic
- رَصِيد raṣīd
- balance in Malay
- baki
- balance in Indonesian
- seimbang, balans, saldo
Examples of balance in a sentence
- The shift in the balance of power online has allowed anyone to publish to the world, from dispirited teenagers in south London to an anonymous cyber-dissident in a Middle East autocracy.2012 April 19, Josh Halliday, “Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?”, in the Guardian:
- I am very well satisfied that it is not in my power to balance accounts with my Maker.1712 December 9 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “FRIDAY, November 29, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 549...
Synonyms of balance
- equilibrium
- pair of scales
- set of scales
- scales
- weighing machine
- weighbridge
- disinterest
- even-handedness
- fairness
- impartiality
8 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
6 more antonymsFewer antonyms
Forms of balance
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | balances |
| alternative form | balaunce |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | balances |
| present participle | balancing |
| past participle | balanced |
| past | balanced |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | balancest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | balancedst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | balanceth |
Origin of balance
From Middle English balaunce, from Old French balance, from Late Latin *bilancia, from (accusative form of) Latin bilanx (“two-scaled”), from bi- + lanx (“plate, scale”). Displaced the word — Old English wǣġ akin to Modern English: wey from Proto-West Germanic *wāgu (“scales; weight”).
Calque of Latin Libra.
Words formed from balance
- acro-balance
- ampere balance
- balance beam
- balance bicycle
- b. bike
- balance board
- balance dock
- balance lock
- balance of nature
- balance of power
- balance of probabilities
- balance of probability
- balance of terror
- balance room
- balance weight
- b.weight
- balance wheel
- basic balance
- check and balance
- chemical balance
- Chinese balance
- color balance
- compensation balance
- detailed balance
- false balance
- hydrostatic balance
- Jolly balance
- Kelvin balance
- letter balance
- mass balance
- nitrogen balance
- power balance
- radiative balance
- Roberval balance
- Roman balance
- spring balance
- steelyard balance
- symmetrical balance
- torsion balance
- trial balance
- water balance
- white balance
- work-life balance
- acrobalance
- balanceman
- balancewise
- counterbalance
- disbalance
- electrobalance
- equibalance
- imbalance
- inbalance
- microbalance
- ultra—
- misbalance
- nanobalance
- overbalance
- rebalance
- thermobalance
- in the balance
Phrases with balance
- balance up
- on balance
- balance out
- off balance
- balance bike
- balance down
- bank balance
- balance beams
- balance bikes
- balance docks
- balance rooms
- balance sheet
43 more phrasesFewer phrases
- debit balance
- trade balance
- balance boards
- balance sheets
- balance wheels
- credit balance
- Eötvös balance
- balance weights
- current balance
- tip the balance
- balance bicycles
- balance of trade
- balance transfer
- strike a balance
- struck a balance
- tips the balance
- balance the books
- balance transfers
- threw off balance
- throw off balance
- balance the sheets
- balance the ticket
- lose one's balance
- lost one's balance
- thrown off balance
- throws off balance
- tipped the balance
- balance of equities
- balance of payments
- hang in the balance
- hung in the balance
- loses one's balance
- tipping the balance
- hangs in the balance
- losing one's balance
- throwing off balance
- weigh in the balance
- weighs in the balance
- balance sheet equation
- hanging in the balance
- weighed in the balance
- balance sheet equations
- weighing in the balance
Words that rhyme with balance
Questions about balance
- What does balance mean?
- Balance means a state in which opposing forces harmonise; equilibrium.
- What is balance in Hindi?
- Balance in Hindi is तराज़ू (tarāzū), तुला (tulā), संतुलन (santulan). See Balance meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use balance in a sentence?
- The shift in the balance of power online has allowed anyone to publish to the world, from dispirited teenagers in south London to an anonymous cyber-dissident in a Middle East autocracy.
- What part of speech is balance?
- Balance can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce balance?
- Balance is pronounced /ˈbæləns/.
- What is the plural of balance?
- The plural of balance is balances.
Words near balance in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: balance (page history and authors); Balance (page history and authors); काँटा (Hindi) (page history and authors); balance (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); तराजू (Marathi) (page history and authors); اعتدال (Urdu) (page history and authors); তরাজূ (Bengali) (page history and authors); తుల (Telugu) (page history and authors); ബാലൻസ് (Malayalam) (page history and authors); ಬಾಕಿ (Kannada) (page history and authors); باقی (Punjabi) (page history and authors); કાંટો (Gujarati) (page history and authors); कक्षा (Sanskrit) (page history and authors); তুলা (Assamese) (page history and authors); बाँकी (Nepali) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-balance.ogg.
Cite this entry: “balance.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/balance. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.