1.  balance(n = noun.state) - a state of equilibrium;
is a kind of equilibrium
has particulars: tension, electrolyte balance, nitrogen balance
Antonym: imbalance
Derived forms verb balance₃, verb balance₁, verb balance₄

2.  balance(n = noun.possession) - equality between the totals of the credit and debit sides of an account;
is a kind of equality
is a part of account, account statement, accounting
has particulars: trial balance
Derived form verb balance₂

3.  balance(n = noun.attribute) proportion, proportionality - harmonious arrangement or relation of parts or elements within a whole (as in a design); "in all perfectly beautiful objects there is found the opposition of one part to another and a reciprocal balance"
is a kind of arrangement, placement

4.  balance(n = noun.shape) counterbalance, equilibrium, equipoise - equality of distribution;
is a kind of construction, structure
has particulars: conformation, proportion, symmetry

5.  balance(n = noun.linkdef) remainder, residual, residue, residuum, rest - something left after other parts have been taken away; "there was no remainder"; "he threw away the rest"; "he took what he wanted and I got the balance"
is a kind of component, component part, constituent, part, portion
has particulars: leftover, remnant

6.  balance(n = noun.possession) - the difference between the totals of the credit and debit sides of an account;
is a kind of difference, remainder
has particulars: balance of trade, trade balance, trade gap, visible balance, carry-forward, carry-over, compensating balance, offsetting balance, invisible balance

7.  balance(n = noun.person) libra - (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Libra;
is a kind of individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul

8.  balance(n = noun.location) libra, libra the balance, libra the scales - the seventh sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about September 23 to October 22;
is a kind of house, mansion, planetary house, sign, sign of the zodiac, star sign

9.  balance(n = noun.attribute) correspondence, symmetricalness, symmetry - (mathematics) an attribute of a shape or relation; exact reflection of form on opposite sides of a dividing line or plane;
is a kind of spatial property, spatiality
has particulars: geometrical regularity, regularity, bilateral symmetry, bilateralism, bilaterality, radial symmetry

10.  balance(n = noun.artifact) counterbalance, counterpoise, counterweight, equaliser, equalizer - a weight that balances another weight;
is a kind of weight
has particulars: sash weight, tare

11.  balance(n = noun.artifact) balance wheel - a wheel that regulates the rate of movement in a machine; especially a wheel oscillating against the hairspring of a timepiece to regulate its beat;
is a kind of wheel
is a part of horologe, timekeeper, timepiece

12.  balance(n = noun.artifact) - a scale for weighing; depends on pull of gravity;
is a kind of scale, weighing machine
has particulars: beam balance, electronic balance, microbalance, spring balance, spring scale, beam scale, lever scale, steelyard

1.  balance(v = verb.stative) equilibrate, equilibrise, equilibrize - bring into balance or equilibrium; "She has to balance work and her domestic duties"; "balance the two weights"
is one way to fit, match
Antonym: unbalance
Derived form noun balance₁
Sample sentences: Somebody ----s something; Something ----s something

2.  balance(v = verb.possession) - compute credits and debits of an account;
is one way to account, calculate
Derived form noun balance₂
Sample sentences: Somebody ----s something

3.  balance(v = verb.contact) poise - hold or carry in equilibrium;
is one way to bear, carry, hold
Derived forms noun balance₁, noun balancer₂, noun balancer₁
Sample sentences: Somebody ----s something

4.  balance(v = verb.stative) - be in equilibrium; "He was balancing on one foot"
is one way to be
Derived forms noun balance₁, noun balancer₂, noun balancer₁
Sample sentences: The children balance in the rocking chair; There balance some children in the rocking chair

1.  An apparatus for weighing. [1913 Webster]
" In its simplest form, a balance consists of a beam or lever supported exactly in the middle, having two scales or basins of equal weight suspended from its extremities. Another form is that of the Roman balance, our steelyard, consisting of a lever or beam, suspended near one of its extremities, on the longer arm of which a counterpoise slides. The name is also given to other forms of apparatus for weighing bodies, as to the combinations of levers making up platform scales; and even to devices for weighing by the elasticity of a spring." [1913 Webster]

2.  Act of weighing mentally; comparison; estimate. [1913 Webster]
"A fair balance of the advantages on either side." [1913 Webster]

3.  Equipoise between the weights in opposite scales. [1913 Webster]

4.  The state of being in equipoise; equilibrium; even adjustment; steadiness. [1913 Webster]
"And hung a bottle on each side
To make his balance true." [1913 Webster]
"The order and balance of the country were destroyed." [1913 Webster]
"English workmen completely lose their balance." [1913 Webster]

5.  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. Thackeray. [1913 Webster]
"I still think the balance of probabilities leans towards the account given in the text." [1913 Webster]

6.  A balance wheel, as of a watch, or clock. See Balance wheel (in the Vocabulary). [1913 Webster]

7.  The constellation Libra. [1913 Webster]

8.  A movement in dancing. See Balance, v. t., 8. [1913 Webster]

1.  To bring to an equipoise, as the scales of a balance by adjusting the weights; to weigh in a balance. [1913 Webster]

2.  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. [1913 Webster]

3.  To equal in number, weight, force, or proportion; to counterpoise, counterbalance, counteract, or neutralize. [1913 Webster]
"One expression . . . must check and balance another." [1913 Webster]

4.  To compare in relative force, importance, value, etc.; to estimate. [1913 Webster]
"Balance the good and evil of things." [1913 Webster]

5.  To settle and adjust, as an account; to make two accounts equal by paying the difference between them. [1913 Webster]
"I am very well satisfied that it is not in my power to balance accounts with my Maker." [1913 Webster]

6.  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. [1913 Webster]

7.  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. [1913 Webster]

8.  To move toward, and then back from, reciprocally; as, to balance partners. [1913 Webster]

9.  To contract, as a sail, into a narrower compass; as, to balance the boom mainsail. [1913 Webster]

1.  To have equal weight on each side; to be in equipoise; as, the scales balance. [1913 Webster]

2.  To fluctuate between motives which appear of equal force; to waver; to hesitate. [1913 Webster]
"He would not balance or err in the determination of his choice." [1913 Webster]

3.  To move toward a person or couple, and then back. [1913 Webster]

balance, n. & v.
--n.
1 an apparatus for weighing, esp. one with a central pivot, beam, and two scales.
2 a a counteracting weight or force. b (in full balance-wheel) the regulating device in a clock etc.
3 a an even distribution of weight or amount. b stability of body or mind (regained his balance).
4 a preponderating weight or amount (the balance of opinion).
5 a an agreement between or the difference between credits and debits in an account. b the difference between an amount due and an amount paid (will pay the balance next week). c an amount left over; the rest.
6 a Art harmony of design and proportion. b Mus. the relative volume of various sources of sound (bad balance between violins and trumpets).
7 (the Balance) the zodiacal sign or constellation Libra.
--v.
1 tr. (foll. by with, against) offset or compare (one thing) with another (must balance the advantages with the disadvantages).
2 tr. counteract, equal, or neutralize the weight or importance of.
3 a tr. bring into or keep in equilibrium (balanced a book on her head). b intr. be in equilibrium (balanced on one leg).
4 tr. (usu. as balanced adj.) establish equal or appropriate proportions of elements in (a balanced diet; balanced opinion).
5 tr. weigh (arguments etc.) against each other.
6 a tr. compare and esp. equalize debits and credits of (an account). b intr. (of an account) have credits and debits equal.

Idiom:
balance of payments the difference in value between payments into and out of a country. balance of power
1 a situation in which the chief States of the world have roughly equal power.
2 the power held by a small group when larger groups are of equal strength. balance of trade the difference in value between imports and exports. balance sheet a statement giving the balance of an account. in the balance uncertain; at a critical stage. on balance all things considered. strike a balance choose a moderate course or compromise.

Derivative:
balanceable adj. balancer n.

Etymology:
ME f. OF, ult. f. LL (libra) bilanx bilancis two-scaled (balance)

VB  be irresolute, hang in suspense, keep in suspense, leave "ad referendum", think twice about, pause, dawdle, remain neuter, dillydally, hesitate, boggle, hover, dacker, hum and haw, demur, not know one's own mind, debate, balance, dally with, coquet with, will and will not, chaser-balancer, go halfway, compromise, make a compromise, be thrown off one's balance, stagger like a drunken man, be afraid, let 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would', falter, waver vacillate, change, retract, fluctuate, pendulate, alternate, keep off and on, play fast and loose, blow hot and cold, shuffle, palter, blink, trim.

N  equality, parity, coextension, symmetry, balance, poise, evenness, monotony, level, equivalence, equipollence, equipoise, equilibrium, equiponderance, par, quits, a wash, not a pin to choose, distinction without a difference, six of one and half a dozen of the other, tweedle dee and tweedle dum, identity, similarity, equalization, equation, equilibration, co-ordination, adjustment, readjustment, drawn game, drawn battle, neck and neck race, tie, draw, standoff, dead heat, match, peer, compeer, equal, mate, fellow, brother, equivalent, equal, even, level, monotonous, coequal, symmetrical, coordinate, on a par with, on a level with, on a footing with, up to the mark, equiparant, equivalent, tantamount, indistinguishable, quits, homologous, synonymous, resolvable into, convertible, much at one, as broad as long, neither more nor less, much the same as, the same thing as, as good as, all one, all the same, equipollent, equiponderant, equiponderous, equibalanced, equalized, drawn, half and half, isochronal, isochronous isoperimetric, isoperimetrical, isobath, isobathic, equally, pari passu, ad eundum, caeteris paribus, in equilibrio, to all intents and purposes, it comes to the same thing, it amounts to the same thing, what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gande.

VB  be equal, equal, match, reach, keep pace with, run abreast, come to, amount to, come up to, be on a level with, lie on a level with, balance, cope with, come to the same thing, render equal, equalize level, dress, balance, equate, handicap, give points, spot points, handicap, trim, adjust, poise, fit, accommodate, adapt, strike a balance, establish equality, restore equality, restore equilibrium, readjust, stretch on the bed of Procrustes, be equal, equal, match, reach, keep pace with, run abreast, come to, amount to, come up to, be on a level with, lie on a level with, balance, cope with, come to the same thing, render equal, equalize level, dress, balance, equate, handicap, give points, spot points, handicap, trim, adjust, poise, fit, accommodate, adapt, strike a balance, establish equality, restore equality, restore equilibrium, readjust, stretch on the bed of Procrustes.

N  mean, average, median, mode, balance, medium, mediocrity, generality, golden mean middle, compromise, middle course, middle state, neutrality, mediocrity, least common denominator, mean, intermediate, middle, average, neutral, mediocre, middle-class, commonplace, on an average, in the long run, taking one with another, taking all things together, taking it for all in all, communibus annis, in round numbers, medium tenuere beati.

VB  make compensation, compensate, compense, indemnify, counteract, countervail, counterpoise, balance, outbalance, overbalance, counterbalance, set off, hedge, square, give and take, make up for, lee way, cover, fill up, neutralize, nullify, equalize, make good, redeem.

N  remainder, residue, remains, remanent, remnant, rest, relic, leavings, heeltap, odds and ends, cheesepairings, candle ends, orts, residuum, dregs, refuse, stubble, result, educt, fag-end, ruins, wreck, skeleton, stump, alluvium, surplus, overplus, excess, balance, complement, superplus, surplusage, superfluity, survival, survivance, remaining, left, left behind left over, residual, residuary, over, odd, unconsumed, sedimentary, surviving, net, exceeding, over and above, outlying, outstanding, cast off, superfluous.

VB  number, count, tally, tell, call over, run over, take an account of, enumerate, muster, poll, recite, recapitulate, sum, sum up, cast up, tell off, score, cipher, compute, calculate, suppute, add, subtract, multiply, divide, extract roots, algebraize, check, prove, demonstrate, balance, audit, overhaul, take stock, affix numbers to, page, amount to, add up to, come to.

N  money, legal tender, money matters, money market, finance, accounts, funds, treasure, capital, stock, assets, wealth, supplies, ways and means, wherewithal, sinews of war, almighty dollar, needful, cash, mammon, dough, cabbage, money-like instruments, M, M, sum, amount, balance, balance sheet, sum total, proceeds, currency, circulating medium, specie, coin, piece, hard cash, cold cash, dollar, sterling coin, pounds shillings and pence, Ls, d, pocket, breeches pocket, purse, money in hand, cash at hand, ready money, ready cash, slug, wad wad of bills, wad of money, thick wad of bills, roll of dough, rhino, blunt, dust, mopus, tin, salt, chink, argent comptant, bottom dollar, buzzard dollar, checks, dibs, double eagle, eagle, Federal currency, fractional currency, postal currency, Federal Reserve Note, United States Note, silver certificate, gold certificate, long bit, short bit, moss, nickel, pile, pin money, quarter, red cent, roanoke, rock, seawan, seawant, thousand dollars, grand, single, one-dollar bill, two- dollar bill, five-dollar bill, fiver, fin, Lincoln, ten-dollar bill, sawbuck, twenty-dollar bill, Jackson, double sawbuck, fifty-dollar bill, hundred-dollar bill, C-note, penny, cent, Lincoln cent, indian head penny, copper, two-cent piece three-cent piece, half- dime, nickel, buffalo nickel, V nickel, dime, disme, mercury dime, quarter, two bits, half dollar, dollar, silver dollar, Eisenhower dollar, Susan B, Anthony dollar, precious metals, gold, silver, copper, bullion, ingot, nugget, petty cash, pocket money, change, small change, small coin, doit, stiver, rap, mite, farthing, sou, penny, shilling, tester, groat, guinea, rouleau, wampum, good sum, round sum, lump sum, power of money, plum, lac of rupees, major coin, crown, minor coin, monetarist, monetary theory, numismatics, chrysology, numismatist, paper money, greenback, major denomination, minor denomination, money order, postal money order, Post Office order, bank note, bond, bill, bill of exchange, order, warrant, coupon, debenture, exchequer bill, assignat, blueback, hundi, shinplaster, note, note of hand, promissory note, I O U, draft, check, cheque, back-dated check, negotiable order of withdrawal, NOW, remittance, credit, liability, drawer, drawee, obligor, obligee, moneyer, coiner, false money, bad money, base coin, flash note, slip, kite, fancy stocks, Bank of Elegance, argumentum ad crumenam, letter of credit, circulation, multiplier effect, inflation, double-digit inflation, hyperinflation, erosion of the currency, debasement of the currency, deflation, stagflation, exchange rate, rate of exchange, floating exchange rates, fixed rates, currency counter, currency exchange, bureau de change, gold-backed currency, gold standard, silver standard, bank account, savings account, checking account, money market account, NOW account, time deposit, deposit, demand deposit, super NOW account, certificate of deposit, CD, $, US$, Y, A$, Federal Reserve Bank, central bank, Federal Reserve Board, board of governors of the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department, Secret Service, mint, bureau of engraving, seigniorage, counterfeit, funny money, bogus money, (falsehood), interest, interest rate, discount rate, monetary, pecuniary, crumenal, fiscal, financial, sumptuary, numismatic, numismatical, sterling, nummary, barbarus ipse placet dummodo sit dives, but the jingling of the guinea helps the hurt that, Gelt regiert die Welt, money rules the world, money makes the world go round, nervos belli pecuniam infinitam, redet Geld so schweigt die Welt, money is the mother's milk of politics, money is the root of all evil, money isn't everything, as phony as a three-dollar bill, don't take any wooden nickels.

N  accounts, accompts, commercial arithmetic, monetary arithmetic, statistics, money matters, finance, budget, bill, score, reckoning, account, books, account book, ledger, day book, cash book, pass book, journal, debtor and creditor account, cash account, running account, account current, balance, balance sheet, compte rendu, account settled, acquit, assets, expenditure, liabilities, outstanding accounts, profit and loss account, profit and loss statement, receipts, bookkeeping, accounting, double entry bookkeeping, reckoning, audit, accountant, auditor, actuary, bookkeeper, bean counter, financier, accounting party, chartered accountant, certified accountant, accounting firm, auditing firm, monetary, accountable, accounting.

N  gravity, gravitation, weight, heaviness, specific gravity, pondorosity, pressure, load, burden, burthen, ballast, counterpoise, lump of, mass of, weight of, lead, millstone, mountain, Ossa on Pelion, weighing, ponderation, trutination, weights, avoirdupois weight, troy weight, apothecaries' weight, grain, scruple, drachma, ounce, pound, lb, arroba, load, stone, hundredweight, cwt, ton, long ton, metric ton, quintal, carat, pennyweight, tod, gram, centigram, milligram, microgram, kilogram, nanogram, picogram, femtogram, attogram, balance, scale, scales, steelyard, beam, weighbridge, spring balance, piezoelectric balance, analytical balance, two-pan balance, one-pan balance, postal scale, baby scale, statics, weighty, weighing, heavy as lead, ponderous, ponderable, lumpish, lumpy, cumbersome, burdensome, cumbrous, unwieldy, massive, incumbent, superincumbent.

VB  compare to, compare with, collate, confront, place side by side, juxtapose, set against one another, pit against one another, contrast, balance, identify, draw a parallel, parallel, compare notes, institute a comparison, parva componere magnis.

N  measurement, admeasurement, mensuration, survey, valuation, appraisement, assessment, assize, estimate, estimation, dead reckoning, reckoning, gauging, horse power, metrology, weights and measures, compound arithmetic, measure, yard measure, standard, rule, foot rule, compass, calipers, gage, gauge, meter, line, rod, check, dividers, velo, flood mark, high water mark, Plimsoll line, index, scale, graduation, graduated scale, nonius, vernier, bathometer, galvanometer, heliometer, interferometer, odometer, ombrometer, pantometer, pluviometer, pneumatometer, pneumometer, radiometer, refractometer, respirometer, rheometer, spirometer, telemeter, udometer, vacuometer, variometer, viameter, thermometer, thermistor (heat) &c, barometer (air), anemometer (wind), dynamometer, goniometer, (angle) 244 meter, landmark, balance, scale, marigraph, pneumatograph, stethograph, rain gauge, rain gage, voltmeter (volts), ammeter (amps), spectrophotometer (light absorbance), mass spectrophotometer (molecular mass), geiger counter, scintillation counter (radioactivity), pycnometer (liquid density), graduated cylinder, volumetric flask (volume), radar gun (velocity), radar (distance), side-looking radar, (shape, topography), sonar (depth in water), light meter (light intensity), clock, watch, stopwatch, chronometer (time), anemometer (wind velocity), densitometer (color intensity), measurability, computability, determinability, coordinates, ordinate and abscissa, polar coordinates, latitude and longitude, declination and right ascension, altitude and azimuth, geometry, stereometry, hypsometry, metage, surveying, land surveying, geodesy, geodetics, geodesia, orthometry, altimetry, cadastre, astrolabe, armillary sphere, land surveyor, geometer, measuring, metric, metrical, measurable, perceptible, noticeable, detectable, appreciable, ponderable, determinable, fathomable, geodetical, topographic, topographical, cartographic, cartographical.

acid-base balance, analytical balance, balance beam, balance of international payments, balance of payments, balance of power, balance of trade, balance sheet, balance wheel, beam balance, chemical balance, compensating balance, dynamic balance, electrolyte balance, electronic balance, invisible balance, libra the balance, mental balance, nitrogen balance, off balance, offsetting balance, sense of balance, spring balance, strike a balance, torsion balance, trade balance, trial balance, visible balance