📒 a situation in which different things exist in equal, correct or good amounts
- 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.
📒 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.
📒 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)
- Consider a balance transfer to a credit card with a lower rate of interest (= = moving the amount owed from one card to another).
- Everyone likes to have a healthy bank balance.
📒 an amount of money still owed after some payment has been made
- The balance of $500 must be paid within 90 days.
- I'll pay the balance later.
- The final balance is due six weeks before departure.
📒 the largest part of a group or an amount; the position of advantage or attention
- The balance of opinion was that work was more important than leisure.
- The balance has now shifted from the unions to employers.
- The balance of economists are expecting a rise in interest rates.
📒 an instrument for weighing things, with a bar that is supported in the middle and has dishes hanging from each end
📒 (considering) the evidence on both sides of an argument, to find the most likely reason for or result of something
- The balance of evidence suggests the Liberal party's decline began before the First World War.
- The coroner thought that on the balance of probabilities, the pilot had suffered a stroke just before the crash.
📒 if the future of something/somebody, or the result of something is/hangs in the balance, it is not certain
- 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.
📒 to make somebody unsteady and in danger of falling
- I was thrown off balance by the sudden gust of wind.
- The sudden movement threw him off balance.
📒 to make somebody surprised and no longer calm
- The senator was clearly caught off balance by the unexpected question.
📒 after considering all the information
- On balance, the company has had a successful year.
📒 to make a situation equal or fair again
- For years poorer children have had to put up with a lower quality education, and now is the time to redress the balance.
📒 to manage to find a way of being fair to two things that are opposed to each other; to find an acceptable position that is between two things
- We need to strike a balance between these conflicting interests.
📒 to affect the result of something in one way rather than another
- In an interview, smart presentation can tip the balance in your favour.
- New evidence tipped the balance against the prosecution.