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balance

noun · verb

Simple meaning

Something of equal weight used to provide equilibrium.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

baluhns

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbæləns

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. literally or figuratively

    Something of equal weight used to provide equilibrium; counterweight.

  2. A pair of scales.

  3. uncountable

    The overall result of conflicting forces, opinions etc.; the influence which ultimately "weighs" more than others.

  4. uncountable

    Apparent harmony in art (between differing colours, sounds, etc.).

  5. uncountable

    A state in which opposing forces harmonise; equilibrium.

  6. uncountable

    Mental equilibrium; mental health; calmness, a state of remaining clear-headed and unperturbed.

verb

  1. transitive

    To bring (items) to an equipoise, as the scales of a balance by adjusting the weights.

  2. transitive

    To hold (an object or objects) precariously; to support on a narrow base, so as to keep from falling.

  3. transitivefigurative

    To make (concepts) agree.

  4. transitive

    To compare in relative force, importance, value, etc.; to estimate.

  5. transitive

    To make the credits and debits of (an account) correspond.

  6. intransitive

    To be in equilibrium.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To make the credits and debits of (an account) correspond.

Used this way, balance is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use balance

  • “In all perfectly beautiful objects there is found the opposition of one part to another and a reciprocal balance"- John Ruskin.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

balance sheettrial balancetrade balanceenergy balancewater balancemass balanceaccount balancedelicate balance

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • balancedadjectiveInflected form

    Being in a state of proper equilibrium.

  • balancernounInflected form

    An acrobat who balances himself in difficult positions.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • balance of paymentsnounCompound term

    A system of recording all of a country's economic transactions with the rest of the world over a period of one year.

  • balance-of-payments problemnounCompound term

    An economic problem caused by payments for imports being greater than receipts for exports.

  • balance of powernounCompound term

    An equilibrium of power between nations.

  • balance of tradenounCompound term

    The difference in value over a period of time of a country's imports and exports of merchandise.

  • balance sheetnounCompound term

    A record of the financial situation of an institution on a particular date by listing its assets and the claims against those assets.

  • balance wheelnounCompound term

    A wheel that regulates the rate of movement in a machine.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

noun

Sense: something of equal weight used to provide equilibrium

counterpoisepoiseequipoise

verb

Sense: to bring (items) to an equipoise

counterbalanceequilibratecounterpoisepoise

Antonyms

noun

Sense: something of equal weight used to provide equilibrium

instabilityimbalance

verb

Sense: to bring (items) to an equipoise

unbalance

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.