- (v.i.) To move toward a person or couple, and then back.
- (n.) An apparatus for weighing.
- (n.) Equipoise between the weights in opposite scales.
- (n.) A balance wheel, as of a watch or clock. See Balance wheel (in the Vocabulary).
- (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.) The constellation Libra.
- (n.) The state of being in equipoise; equilibrium; even adjustment; steadiness.
- (n.) The seventh sign in the Zodiac, called Libra, which the sun enters at the equinox in September.
- (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 compare in relative force, importance, value, etc.; to estimate.
- (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 contract, as a sail, into a narrower compass; as, to balance the boom mainsail.
- (n.) To move toward, and then back from, reciprocally; as, to balance partners.
- (n.) To bring to an equipoise, as the scales of a balance by adjusting the weights; to weigh in a balance.
- (n.) Act of weighing mentally; comparison; estimate.
- (v.i.) To have equal weight on each side; to be in equipoise; as, the scales balance.
- (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 movement in dancing. See Balance, v. i., S.
- (n.) To settle and adjust, as an account; to make two accounts equal by paying the difference between them.
- (v.i.) To fluctuate between motives which appear of equal force; to waver; to hesitate.
- (n.) To equal in number, weight, force or proportion; to counterpoise, counterbalance, counteract or neutralize.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). balance. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/balance/definitions/1977986 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "balance" http://smartdefine.org/balance/definitions/1977986 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, balance, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/balance/definitions/1977986>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "balance" 27 May 2011. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/balance/definitions/1977986> |