equal amounts
1 [U,sing.] ~ (between A and B) a situation in which different things exist in equal, correct or good amounts:
Try to keep a balance between work and relaxation. * This newspaper maintains a good balance in its presentation of different opinions. * Tourists often disturb the delicate balance of nature on the island. * His wife's death disturbed the balance of his mind.
of body
2 [U] the ability to keep steady with an equal amount of weight on each side of the body:
Athletes need a good sense of balance. * I struggled to keep my balance on my new skates. * She cycled round the corner, lost her balance and fell off.
money
3 [C,usually sing.] the amount that is left after taking numbers or money away from a total:
to check your bank balance (= to find out how much money there is in your account)
4 [C,usually sing.] an amount of money still owed after some payment has been made:
The balance of $500 must be paid within 90 days.
instrument for weighing
5 [C] an instrument for weighing things, with a bar that is supported in the middle and has dishes hanging from each end
IDIOMS
(on) the balance of evidence / probability (formal) (considering) the evidence on both sides of an argument, to find the most likely reason for or result of sth:
The balance of evidence suggests the Liberal party's decline began before the First World War.
(be / hang) in the balance if the future of sth/sb, or the result of sth is/hangs in the balance, it is uncertain:
The long-term future of the space programme hangs in the balance. * Tom's life hung in the balance for two weeks as he lay in a coma.
(catch / throw sb) off balance
1 to make sb/sth unsteady and in danger of falling:
I was thrown off balance by the sudden gust of wind.
2 to make sb surprised and no longer calm:
The senator was clearly caught off balance by the unexpected question.
on balance after considering all the information:
On balance, the company has had a successful year.
moreatREDRESSv., STRIKEv., SWINGv., TIPv.
Part of speech: verb
keep steady
1 ~ (sth) (on sth) to put your body or sth else into a position where it is steady and does not fall:
[V] How long can you balance on one leg? * [VN] The television was precariously balanced on top of a pile of books. * She balanced the cup on her knee.
be / keep equal
2 ~ (sth) (out) to be equal in value, amount, etc. to sth else that has the opposite effect
SYNOFFSET:
[VN] This year's profits will balance our previous losses. * His lack of experience was balanced by a willingness to learn. * [V] The good and bad effects of any decision will usually balance out.
3 [VN] ~ A with / and B to give equal importance to two contrasting things or parts of sth:
She tries to balance home life and career.
compare
4 ~ A against B to compare the relative importance of two contrasting things:
The cost of obtaining legal advice needs to be balanced against its benefits.
money
5 [VN] (finance) to show that in an account the total money spent is equal to the total money received; to calculate the difference between the two totals
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About this entry
This is a English–English dictionary entry.
Sourced from Main Dictionary in Lughet's collection.
This word also appears under other sources in Lughet's collection — see the list below.
This entry for balance is sourced from Main Dictionary, one of the dictionaries and corpora merged into Lughet.
Is balance a noun, verb, or something else?
In this entry, balance is tagged as noun.
Does balance appear elsewhere on Lughet?
Yes — balance appears under other sources or language pairs in Lughet's collection. See the list below.
What is Lughet?
Lughet is a free trilingual dictionary covering nearly five million entries across Uyghur, Chinese, and English, drawn from more than ten source dictionaries and corpora.
