Balance
['bæl(ə)ns] or ['bæləns]
Definition
(noun.) a scale for weighing; depends on pull of gravity.
(noun.) equality between the totals of the credit and debit sides of an account.
(noun.) the difference between the totals of the credit and debit sides of an account.
(noun.) equality of distribution.
(noun.) a state of equilibrium.
(verb.) compute credits and debits of an account.
(verb.) bring into balance or equilibrium; 'She has to balance work and her domestic duties'; 'balance the two weights'.
(verb.) be in equilibrium; 'He was balancing on one foot'.
Typed by Gordon--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) An apparatus for weighing.
(n.) Act of weighing mentally; comparison; estimate.
(n.) Equipoise between the weights in opposite scales.
(n.) The state of being in equipoise; equilibrium; even adjustment; steadiness.
(n.) An equality between the sums total of the two sides of an account; as, to bring one's accounts to a balance; -- also, the excess on either side; as, the balance of an account.
(n.) A balance wheel, as of a watch, or clock. See Balance wheel (in the Vocabulary).
(n.) The constellation Libra.
(n.) The seventh sign in the Zodiac, called Libra, which the sun enters at the equinox in September.
(n.) A movement in dancing. See Balance, v. i., S.
(n.) To bring to an equipoise, as the scales of a balance by adjusting the weights; to weigh in a balance.
(n.) To support on a narrow base, so as to keep from falling; as, to balance a plate on the end of a cane; to balance one's self on a tight rope.
(n.) To equal in number, weight, force, or proportion; to counterpoise, counterbalance, counteract, or neutralize.
(n.) To compare in relative force, importance, value, etc.; to estimate.
(n.) To settle and adjust, as an account; to make two accounts equal by paying the difference between them.
(n.) To make the sums of the debits and credits of an account equal; -- said of an item; as, this payment, or credit, balances the account.
(n.) To arrange accounts in such a way that the sum total of the debits is equal to the sum total of the credits; as, to balance a set of books.
(n.) To move toward, and then back from, reciprocally; as, to balance partners.
(n.) To contract, as a sail, into a narrower compass; as, to balance the boom mainsail.
(v. i.) To have equal weight on each side; to be in equipoise; as, the scales balance.
(v. i.) To fluctuate between motives which appear of equal force; to waver; to hesitate.
(v. i.) To move toward a person or couple, and then back.
Typist: Maura
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Pair of scales.[2]. Equipoise, equilibrium, equality of weight.[3]. Excess, overplus, surplus.[4]. [Low, U. S.] Rest, residue, remainder.
v. a. [1]. Poise, keep in equipoise, hold in equilibrium.[2]. Counterpoise, counteract, neutralize, countervail, counterbalance, compensate, make up for.[3]. (Com.) Equalize, make equal.
Typed by Jaime
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Weigh, poise, pit, et, counterpoise, counteract, neutralize, equalize,estimate, redress, adjust
ANT:Upset, tilt, cant, subvert, mispoise, overbalance
Inputed by Leonard
Definition
n. an instrument for weighing usually formed of two dishes or scales hanging from a beam supported in the middle: act of weighing two things: equality or just proportion of weight or power as the balance of power: the sum required to make the two sides of an account equal hence the surplus or the sum due on an account: what is needed to produce equilibrium a counterpoise: (watchmaking) a contrivance which regulates the speed of a clock or watch.—v.t. to weigh in a balance: to counterpoise: to compare: to settle as an account to examine and test accounts in book-keeping to make the debtor and creditor sides of an account agree.—v.i. to have equal weight or power &c.: to hesitate or fluctuate.—p.adj. Bal′anced poised so as to preserve equilibrium: well arranged stable.—ns. Bal′ancer an acrobat; Bal′ance-sheet a sheet of paper showing a summary and balance of accounts; Bal′ance-wheel a wheel in a watch or chronometer which regulates the beat or rate.
Checker: Presley
Unserious Contents or Definition
Something wanted by book-keepers and often lost by topers. May be found in a cash-book or the kangaroo gait.
Checked by Alfreda
Examples
- It slid from its balance, owing to the change in its course against the currents of air. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- A balance, therefore, must necessarily be paid to them in gold and silver, and this balance, too, is generally found. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- In that case the steady pull on the balance will be one half the weight of the roller; or a force of 6 pounds will suffice to raise the 12-pound roller. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- They take with them neither wagons nor artillery; these latter marching with the balance of the army to the James River. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- The Wrights’ system of balance, the great original feature of their invention, is attained by what is called the warping of the wings. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- Memphis therefore was practically isolated from the balance of the command. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Such taxes, when destined for the maintenance of the state, have some advantages, which may serve in some measure to balance their inconveniency. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- Faculties less delicately balanced, constitutions less tenderly organised, must have suffered under such an ordeal as this. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- A calculated, cast up, balanced, and proved house. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- It is right that the best and the worst of me should be fairly balanced before that time. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Your judgment is well balanced, your heart is kind, your principles are sound. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- No doubt this automatic and balanced theory of government suited admirably that distrust of the people which seems to have been a dominant feeling among the Fathers. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- It was a question whether our numerical strength and resources were not more than balanced by these disadvantages and the enemy's superior position. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- What does it offer in comparison with, as balanced over against, some other possibility? John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- The gun is fulcrumed in a lever frame provided with a counterpoise which more than balances the gun. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- In the latter case a force of 1 pound actually balances a force of 2 pounds, but the 1-pound weight is twice as far from the point of suspension as is the 2-pound weight. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- The practical method of securing the proper and ready adaptation of balances to springs is to place in the rims of the balance a number of small screws having relatively heavy heads. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- An occupation is the only thing which balances the distinctive capacity of an individual with his social service. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- In this way one hand could control both the steering and the balancing of the planes. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- The Papacy seemed to be balancing its traditional reliance upon the faithful Habsburgs against its quarrel with republican France. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- In practice, however, no such perfect conditions can obtain, hence the necessity of the provision for balancing in order to maintain the principle of independent control of each unit. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- Pilcher, an Englishman, continued his experiments, trying the same method of balancing, but in September, 1899, his wings broke, and he met the same fate as his teacher. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- I sing the song as 'twas sung to me, said the Count blithely, balancing himself on one foot. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- Becky consoled herself by so balancing the chances and equalizing the distribution of good and evil in the world. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- But the problem of balancing was not yet solved, and here Wilbur and Orville Wright entered upon the scene. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
Checked by Bianca