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Definition: Balance |
BalanceNoun1. A state of equilibrium. 2. A scale for weighing; depends on pull of gravity. 3. An amount on the credit side of an account. 4. 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"- John Ruskin. 5. Equality of distribution. 6. (mathematics) an attribute of a shape; exact correspondence of form on opposite sides of a dividing line or plane. 7. An equivalent counterbalancing weight. Verb1. Bring into balance or equilibrium; "She has to balance work and her domestic duties"; "balance the two weights". 2. Compute credits and debits of an account. 3. Hold or carry in equilibrium. 4. Be in equilibrium; "He was balancing on one foot". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "balance" was first used: sometime around 1200. (references) |
Etymology: Balance \Bal"ance\, noun. [Old English balaunce, French balance, from Latin bilan, bilancis, having two scales; bis twice (akin to English two) + lanx plate, scale.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
19th Century Satire | Something wanted by book-keepers and often lost by topers. May be found in a cash-book or the kangaroo gait. Source: Foolish Dictionary, 1904. |
Aerospace | 1. The equilibrium attained by an aircraft, rocket, or the like when forces and moments are acting upon it so as to produce steady flight, especially without rotation about its axes; also used with reference to equilibrium about any specified axis, as, an airplane in balance about its longitudinal axis .2. A weight that counterbalances something, especially on an aircraft control surface, a weight installed forward of the hinge axis to counterbalance the surface aft of the hinge axis. (references) |
Bible | Balance occurs in Lev. 19:36 and Isa. 46:6, as the rendering of the Hebrew _kanch'_, which properly means "a reed" or "a cane," then a rod or beam of a balance. This same word is translated "measuring reed" in Ezek. 40:3,5; 42:16-18. There is another Hebrew word, _mozena'yim_, i.e., "two poisers", also so rendered (Dan. 5:27). The balances as represented on the most ancient Egyptian monuments resemble those now in use. A "pair of balances" is a symbol of justice and fair dealing (Job 31:6; Ps. 62:9; Prov. 11:1). The expression denotes great want and scarcity in Rev. 6:5. Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary. |
Business | The profit balance(at the disposal of the Annual General Meeting)includes the net profit of the financial year according to profit and loss account and the profit carried forward form previous year. Source: European Union. (references) |
Electrical Engineering | A network designed to simulate the impedance presented by a line or another network. Source: European Union. (references) |
Engineering & Technology | State of equilibrium attained by aircraft or spacecraft. Source: European Union. (references) |
Finance | Equality between the totals of the two sides of an account. Source: European Union. (references) |
| A)difference between the totals of debits and credits of an account; b)amount remaining payable or receivable as the result of partial payment or overpayment. Source: European Union. (references) | |
| The remaining amount credited to a customer's account, representing the amount the customer is entitled to withdraw, or conversely, the remaining amount of a customer's debt, which is the amount the customer is obligated to repay. The term also refers to the ratio of total credits to total debits. (references) | |
Food & Agriculture | When a co-sharer turn at the end of a main or branch watercourse finishes, the main or branch watercourse is closed off and the water that has been left in the channel between the point of close off and the field of the co-sharer, is known "balance" Source: European Union. (references) |
Insurance | Amount which is shared each year between all associates of a mutual society as a consequence of the results obtained from the account of a branch. Source: European Union. (references) |
Literature | Balance (The) "Libra," the 7th sign of the zodiac, which contains the autumnal equinox. According to fable it is Astræa, who, in the iron age, returned from earth to heaven. Virgil, to praise the equity of Augustus, promises him a future residence in this sign. According to Persian mythology, at the last day there will be a huge balance big as the vault of heaven. The two scale pans will be called that of light and that of darkness. In the former all good will be placed, in the latter all evil. And each individual will receive an award according to the judgment of the balance. Balance He has a good balance at his bankers. His credit side shows a large balance in his favour. Balance of power. The States of Europe being so balanced that no one nation shall have such a preponderance as to endanger the independence of another. Balance of trade. The money-value difference between the exports and imports of a nation. To balance an account. To add up the debit and credit sides, and subtract the less of the two from the greater. The remainder is called the balance. To strike a balance. To calculate the exact difference, if any, between the debit and credit side of an account. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Math | The (weight) balance of a tree is the number of leaves of the left subtree of a tree, denoted |Tl|, divided by the total number of leaves of the tree. Formally, (T) = |Tl|/|T|. (references) |
Mining | A. The counterpoise or weight attached by cable to the drum of a winding engine to balance the weight of the cage and hoisting cable and thus assist the engine in lifting the load out of the shaft b. An instrument for weighing c. See:assay balance; balance pit. d. A beam device specif. designed and calibrated to determine specific gravity by weighing methods, as in determining the specific gravity ofdrilling mud. (references) |
Occupations | To adjust pressure, velocity, or volume control settings in a heating, cooling, or ventilating system to attain performance indicated in system design specifications. (references) |
Tips from 1870 | Usage: Balance, Remainder. This word, like numerous others, has been borrowed from the commercial world, and has had such a wide use that its faultiness is not noticed even by many who regard themselves as careful speakers and writers. "I cut down part of the timber this year, and expect to cut the balance next spring." "My cousin will remain with us the balance of this week." "James ate half of the melon to-day, and will eat the balance to-morrow." In these and all similar cases the word remainder should be used. Balance is a term that applies to accounts, and signifies the amount necessary to be added to one side of the account in order to make it equal the other. Source: Slips of Speech. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
For other meanings of the word balance, see:
- equilibrium
- sense of balance
- balance beam
- Balance (song)
- homeostasis, the biological balance within a human or other animal's body
A balance (also beam balance or laboratory balance) is used to accurately measure the mass of an object. This class of measuring instrument uses a comparison technique in its conventional form of a beam from which a weighing pan and scale pan are suspended. To weigh an object, it is placed on the measuring pan, and standard weights are added to the scale pan until the beam is in equilibrium.
Very precise measurements are achieved by ensuring that the fulcrum of the beam is friction-free (a knife edge is the traditional solution), by attaching a pointer to the beam which amplifies any deviation from a balance position; and finally by using the lever principle, which allows fractional weights to be applied by movement of a small weight along the measuring arm of the beam.
While the word "weigh" or "weight" is often used, any balance scale actually measures mass, which is not dependent upon the force of gravity, as opposed to a scale with a spring, which measures weight. Mass is properly measured in gramss, kilograms, pounds, ounces, or slugs; while weight is in newtonss or pound force.
A balance can also refer to the amount of money remaining in an account, such as in banking.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Balance."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Title of song: BalanceArtist: Funkadelic
Title of album: America Eats Its Young
Year of first release: 1972
This is widely considered one of the better songs off an otherwise weak album.
Songwriters: George Clinton, Bernie Worrell
Memorable Lyrics:
Complete lyrics at the Motherpage
- "Balance is my thing/The sun don't/Snow, wind and rain/Most times"
- "Hey, mother/Sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm HIGH/Sometimes I am really down"
The lyrics to this song are inscrutable. The singer addresses it to "mother" (Mother Nature?) and repeatedly refers to maintaining "balance" while his mind is "conflicting" and he seems very uncertain what to do in multiple situations, each described in a line or two.
Personnel:
- Lead Vocals: Bootsy Collins
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Balance (song)."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Equilibrioception or sense of balance is one of the physiological senses. It allows humans and animals to walk etc. without falling. Some animals are better in this than humans, for example allowing a cat to walk on a thin fence.It is determined by the level of fluid properly called endolymph) in the labyrinth - a complex set of tubing in the inner ear.
When the sense of balance is disturbed it causes dizziness, disorientation and nausea. Balance can be upset by Meniere's disease, an inner ear infection, by a bad head cold or a sinus infection, or a number of other medical conditions. It can also be temporarily disturbed by rapid and vigorous movement, for example riding on a merry-go-round.
You can temporarily disturb your sense of balance by closing your eyes and turning rapidly in circles five or six times. This starts the fluid swirling in circles inside your ear canal. When you stop turning it takes a few minutes for the fluid to lose momentum, and until then the sense from your inner ear conflicts with the information coming from your vision, causing dizziness and disorientation. Most astronauts find that their sense of balance is impaired when in orbit, because there is not enough gravity to keep the ear's fluid in balance. This causes a form of motion sickness called space sickness.
A rope-dancer or rope-walker is a balance artist, often using a balance beam, see Tightrope walking.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Equilibrioception."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| BAL | English | Balance | Computing |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: BalanceSynonyms: correspondence (n), counterbalance (n), counterpoise (n), counterweight (n), equaliser (n), equalizer (n), equilibrium (n), equipoise (n), proportion (n), symmetricalness (n), symmetry (n), equilibrate (v), equilibrize (v), poise (v). (additional references) |
| Antonyms: asymmetry (n), imbalance (n), unbalance (v). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Accounts | 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. |
Comparison | Verb: compare to, compare with; collate, confront; place side by side, juxtapose; (near); set against one another, pit against one another; contrast, balance. |
Compensation | Verb: 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; (atone). |
Equality | Verb: be equal; Adjective: 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; Adjective: equalize level, dress, balance, equate, handicap, give points, spot points, handicap, trim, adjust, poise; fit, accommodate; adapt; (render accordant); strike a balance; establish equality, restore equality, restore equilibrium; readjust; stretch on the bed of Procrustes. | |
Noun: equality, parity, coextension, symmetry, balance, poise; evenness, monotony, level. | |
Irresolution | Verb: be irresolute; Adjective: hang in suspense, keep in suspense; leave "ad referendum"; think twice about, pause; dawdle; (inactivity); 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 |
Mean | Noun: mean, average; median, mode; balance, medium, mediocrity, generality; golden mean; (mid-course); middle; compromise; middle course, middle state; neutrality. |
Measurement | Bathometer, galvanometer, heliometer, interferometer, odometer, ombrometer, pantometer, pluviometer, pneumatometer, pneumometer, radiometer, refractometer, respirometer, rheometer, spirometer, telemeter, udometer, vacuometer, variometer, viameter, thermometer, thermistor (heat), barometer (air), anemometer (wind), dynamometer, goniometer (angle) meter; landmark; (limit); balance, scale; (weight); 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). |
Money | Sum, amount; balance, balance sheet; sum total; proceeds;(receipts). |
Numeration | Check, prove, demonstrate, balance, audit, overhaul, take stock; affix numbers to, page. |
Remainder | Surplus, overplus, excess; balance, complement; superplus, surplusage; superfluity;(redundancy); survival, survivance. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | I like a woman with an arse you can park a bike in and balance a pint of beer on. (Bridget Jones's Diary; writing credit: Helen Fielding) Everything you see exists in a delicate balance. As king you must understand that balance and respect all creatures (The Lion King; writing credit: Irene Mecchi; Jonathan Roberts) The salt balance has to be just right, so the best fat for making soap comes from humans (Fight Club; writing credit: Jim Uhls) Someone has to maintain balance, you know (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; writing credit: Doreen Spicer) Now, remember, Ben, keep your balance. (Friends; writing credit: Jörn O. Jensen; Birger Larsen) | |
Lyrics | The magic runes are writ in gold to bring the balance back (The battle of evermore; performing artist: Led Zeppelin) To your balance (Wonder; performing artist: Natalie Merchant) 'Cause the balance of power's maintained that way. (Who's Next?; performing artist: Tom Lehrer) | |
Clever | After the government takes enough to balance the budget, the taxpayer has the job of budgeting the balance. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | A Delicate Balance (1973) Indelicate Balance (1968) Le Glaive et la balance (1963) A Life in the Balance (1955) Balance Your Budget (1952) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References | |||
Books |
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Periodicals | |||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Clam fishing from a skiff requires good balance. Credit: Fisheries. |  | Figure 45. Pettersson small chain hydrometer, designed by Professors Otto and Hans Pettersson in 1917. This instrument eliminated difficulties associated with the surface tension of the sample as well as variations of volume. A small metal chain helped achieve a balance by compensating for the buoyancy of the float as a function of the density of the liquid. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. |
 | Figure 71. A Mohr-Westphal density balance. This instrument was first described in 1832 by the German chemist Carl Friedrich Mohr. It is a balance with two arms, where the equilibrium is reached by adding weight on a tray. This type of instrument was modified by G. Westphal who replaced the tray with an adjustable counterweight. Julien Thoulet used this type of instrument in his studies. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. |  | Producers and marketers can minimize pre-slaughter fasting stress in cattle by feeding animals regularly. And the practice could do a lot to maintain the normal balance of rumen microbes and suppress bacterial like E. coli 0157:H7. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Brian Prechtel.. |
 | Balance Food and Activity Today... : ...Be Healthier Tomorrow. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | The pedlar and his pack or The desperate effort, an over balance. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Congressional scales, a true balance. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Nothing wrong with the wall : I just lost my balance. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Delicate budget balance. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Balance / Herblock. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Centennial@Sunset 1" by Igor Kasalovic Commentary: "Centennial and its surroundings at sunset. To have these particular conditions I've used incandescent white balance." | "Red hot call" by Craig Young Commentary: "Phone lines are burning. White balance set for florescent 1, down lit with white light and red card as backdrop. No flash." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Peter Ustinov | Unfortunately, the balance of nature decrees that a super-abundance of dreams is paid for by a growing potential for nightmares. |
Plutarch | Prosperity is no just scale; adversity is the only balance to weigh friends. |
Robert Greene | Hangs in the uncertain balance of proud time. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
John Locke | 1690 | Grants, promises, and oaths, are bonds that hold the Almighty: whatever some flatterers say to princes of the world, who all together, with all their people joined to them, are, in comparison of the great God, but as a drop of the bucket, or a dust on the balance, inconsiderable, nothing! (Second Treatise of Government) |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | The balance shall be reckoned towards liquidation of the amounts due for reparation. (reference) |
Winston S. Churchill | 1946 | Nevertheless the future of Italy hangs in the balance. ("Iron Curtain" Speech) |
John F. Kennedy | 1961 | But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course--both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | He weighed, he thought, he considered the alternatives of the mysterious balance of light and shade |
Time Enough for Love | Robert Heinlein | A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly |
Gulliver's Travels | Swift, Jonathan | Of so little weight are the greatest services to princes, when put into the balance with a refusal to gratify their passions |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Balance and coordination. (references) | |
Loss of balance and coordination. (references) | ||
In cancer, this balance is disrupted. (references) | ||
Business | Natural gas (22%), coal, wind and landfill gas meets the balance. (references) | |
The usual terms for cash sales are 50 percent in advance and the balance on delivery. (references) | ||
They account for 24% of the total hotel industry; the balance of 76% is managed locally. (references) | ||
Civil Liberties | Togo | Two opposition representatives were appointed in August to improve the HAAC's balance. (references) |
Liberia | Two are independent dailies and five generally appeared once or more a week; they vary in their political balance. (references) | |
Peru | Broadcast television stations also have begun to show a balance in their political coverage and present both progovernment and opposition views. (references) | |
Economic History | Brazil | The trade balance has been disappointing. (references) |
Malaysia | Any unused balance can be carried forward. (references) | |
Brazil | Brazil's balance of payments deficit was $2.3 billion. (references) | |
Human Rights | Sri Lanka | The businessmen were freed after making partial payment and promising to pay the balance. (references) |
Ukraine | Human rights groups state that, overall, the Constitutional Court has maintained a balance of fairness. (references) | |
Israel and the occupied territories | The Israeli Government further stated that Palestinians have used ambulances to transport arms, and that soldiers must balance these security considerations with humanitarian concern. (references) | |
Minorities | Nigeria | The Government also attempted to balance key positions and deputy positions among the different regions and ethnic groups. (references) |
Central African Republic | As a result of hirings and firings following President Patasse's 1993 election, Yakomas no longer hold a disproportionate number of positions in the civil service, but the armed forces still are being restructured to achieve greater ethnic balance. (references) | |
Political Economy | CHINA | Long-term lending made up over 90 percent of the outstanding balance. (references) |
Political Rights | Swaziland | The Cabinet of Ministers, sworn in on November 20, 1998, included only three elected Members of Parliament, with the balance drawn from appointed members of the House and Senate. (references) |
Indonesia | A number of constitutional changes, MPR decrees, and legal changes have enhanced legislative branch authorities, raising some concerns that the balance of power may have shifted too far from the executive branch. (references) | |
Egypt | Many of the independents elected were former members of the NDP who rejoined the party after being elected, thus leaving the People's Assembly actual balance at 388 NDP members, 37 independents (17 of them affiliated with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood), and 17 opposition party members. (references) | |
Trade | Indonesia | Improved export earnings have enabled Indonesia to have a positive current account balance. (references) |
Czech Rep | Most Czech firms use prepayment or partial prepayment with the balance due upon delivery or net 30-day terms. (references) | |
Cape Verde | Export Controls: given the significant structural deficit of the trade balance, there are no controls on exports. (references) | |
Travel | Chad | All subscribers must pay a service deposit of USD 400; this deposit is refundable upon termination of the contract, less any outstanding balance due. (references) |
Tunisia | THE TUNISIAN GOVERNMENT'S POLICIES IN THIS AREA REFLECT AN ONGOING EFFORT TO BALANCE ITS POLITICAL AND SECURITY CONCERNS WITH THE GROWING DEMAND FOR INTERNET ACCESS AND OTHER NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES. (references) | |
Women | Egypt | A sole female heir receives half her parents' estate; the balance goes to designated male relatives. (references) |
Worker Rights | Argentina | The major strikes were generally protests against the economic model or specific government austerity measures aimed to balance the federal budget. (references) |
United Kingdom | The victims often agree to pay off the balance by working in the sex industry; however, upon arriving, they are required to perform sexual services they did not agree to, their documents are confiscated, and they are forced to work a longer time than anticipated. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | EMBALM, v.i. To cheat vegetation by locking up the gases upon which it feeds. By embalming their dead and thereby deranging the natural balance between animal and vegetable life, the Egyptians made their once fertile and populous country barren and incapable of supporting more than a meagre crew. The modern metallic burial casket is a step in the same direction, and many a dead man who ought now to be ornamenting his neighbor's lawn as a tree, or enriching his table as a bunch of radishes, is doomed to a long inutility. We shall get him after awhile if we are spared, but in the meantime the violet and rose are languishing for a nibble at his glutoeus maximus. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Dennis Miller | The balance between a free society and a safe society is a difficult one. |
Donald Rumsfeld | Oh, I don't think it's quite that way. I think the president has said that anyone dealing with terrorism has to make a judgment and balance things as to how they do it and in what degrees they do it and where they do it and when they do it. |
Jerry Lewis | I'm going to be able to do the top of the show. I'll do five or six hours, and then I've got to rest for eight, and then I'll do the balance. |
Mitch Daniels | Well, I think what Congressman DeLay and others are asking is whether we ought not strive to get the balance in this next year and the year after. That's a good target to shoot for. |
Phil McGraw | Your passion is misguided. You got to have balance. That's the key. Find your passion and apply it in a way that is balanced to you and those you care about. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
John Adams | 1797-1801 | However we may consider ourselves, the maritime and commercial powers of the world will consider the United States of America as forming a weight in that balance of power in Europe which never can be forgotten or neglected. |
James Madison | 1809-1817 | Of the appropriations for the purchase of materials for ship building, the greater part has been applied to that object and the purchase will be continued with the balance. |
John Quincy Adams | 1825-1829 | Its object was to balance the burdens upon native industry imposed by the operation of foreign laws, but not to aggravate the burdens of one section of the Union by the relief afforded to another. |
Dwight Eisenhower | 1953-1961 | Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. |
John F. Kennedy | 1961-1963 | But more than our exchange of international payments is out of balance. |
Gerald Ford | 1974-1977 | Europe and Japan, both heavily dependent on imported oil, now struggle to keep their economies in balance. |
Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | While differences remain, the INFCE effort provides a broader international basis for national decisions which must balance energy needs with non-proliferation concerns. |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | Raising taxes won't balance the budget. |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | We all want to balance the budget. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Balance" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 91.55% of the time. "Balance" is used about 8,649 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 91.55% | 7,918 | 1,218 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 7.82% | 676 | 9,770 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 0.64% | 55 | 45,713 |
| Total | 100.00% | 8,649 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes names derived from the word "balance". | |||
| Name | Gender | Language | Meaning |
| Askelon | N/A | Biblical | Balance |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
| |||
| Country | Name |
| USA | Balance Bar Company |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "balance": a delicate balance ♦ account balance ♦ actinic balance ♦ active balance ♦ adjusting balance ♦ adverse balance ♦ adverse balance of trade ♦ aerodynamic balance ♦ air balance chamber ♦ ampere balance ♦ analytical balance ♦ annual balance ♦ arm of balance ♦ assay balance ♦ available balance ♦ Axis of a balance ♦ balance account ♦ balance against each other ♦ balance an account ♦ balance at the bank ♦ balance beam ♦ balance book ♦ balance brought forward ♦ balance brought forward from previous year ♦ balance carried ♦ balance carried forward ♦ balance carried forward from previous year ♦ balance carried forward to new account ♦ balance carried over from last year ♦ balance chart ♦ Balance dock ♦ balance due ♦ Balance electrometer ♦ Balance fish ♦ balance in Federal bond register ♦ balance in hand ♦ Balance knife ♦ balance level ♦ balance of cash on hand ♦ balance of current payments ♦ balance of international payments ♦ balance of loss brought forward ♦ balance of migration ♦ balance of mind ♦ balance of motions ♦ balance of nature ♦ balance of payment information from customer message ♦ balance of payments ♦ balance of power ♦ balance of powers ♦ balance of terror ♦ balance of the account ♦ Balance of torsion ♦ balance of trade ♦ balance on current account ♦ balance oneself ♦ balance out ♦ balance pole ♦ balance reef ♦ Balance rudder ♦ balance sheet ♦ balance sheet account ♦ balance sheet total ♦ balance sheet value ♦ balance spring ♦ balance station zero ♦ balance storage ♦ balance tab ♦ balance the books ♦ balance the budget ♦ balance the cash ♦ Balance Therapy ♦ Balance thermometer ♦ balance to be carried over ♦ Balance valve ♦ balance weight ♦ balance wheel ♦ balance with banks for periods of more than one month ♦ bank balance ♦ be in the balance ♦ be thrown off one's balance ♦ beam balance ♦ cash balance ♦ certificate of balance ♦ chemical balance ♦ closing balance ♦ Coin balance ♦ column balance ♦ comparative balance sheets ♦ Compensated balance ♦ Compensation balance ♦ condensed balance sheet ♦ consolidated balance sheet ♦ control surface balance ♦ credit balance ♦ current account balance ♦ debit balance ♦ debtor balance ♦ declining balance depreciation ♦ Declining balance method ♦ declining balance method of depreciation. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "balance": balance-bob, balance-bridge, balance-item, balance-lug, balance-master, balance-mistress, balance-of-payment, balance-of-payments, balance-of-payments problem, balance-of-power, balance-of-trade, balance-pan, balance-room, balance-sheet, balance-sheet, balance-sheets, balance-wheel. | |
Ending with "balance": counter-balance, energy-balance, off-balance, over-balance, real-balance, re-balance. | |
Containing "balance": off-balance-sheet. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
new balance | 3,045 | new balance outlet | 99 |
new balance shoes | 1,313 | new balance athletic shoes | 96 |
balance | 1,241 | life balance | 91 |
balance bar | 598 | balance score card | 86 |
balance sheet | 427 | balance scale | 80 |
credit card balance transfer | 344 | balance general | 77 |
balance bracelet | 310 | new balance 574 | 76 |
balance transfer | 260 | balance beam | 69 |
0 balance transfer | 196 | account balance | 60 |
new balance running shoes | 185 | balance board | 58 |
new balance sneaker | 184 | balance of power | 56 |
work life balance | 172 | balance of payment | 55 |
body balance | 139 | new balance discount | 55 |
balance scorecard | 131 | new balance walking shoes | 54 |
check and balance | 121 | new balance 805 | 53 |
new balance 991 | 120 | 0 apr balance transfer | 51 |
balance ball | 108 | balance sheet example | 49 |
new balance tennis shoes | 105 | natural balance | 49 |
0 credit card balance transfer | 101 | natural balance dog food | 48 |
ph balance | 101 | balance exercise | 46 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "balance"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | afsluit (accomodate, bar, end, fence, fence off, finish, lock, obstruct, strike, strike a balance, terminate). (various references) | |
Albanian | bilancier (outrigger), bilanc (balance sheet), balancoj (compensate, counterbalance, counterpoise, weigh up), balancim (compensation, equilibrium), vlerësoj (appraise, appreciate, assess, calculate, cost, esteem, estimate, evaluate, judge, measure, prise, prize, put, rate, value, weigh), terezi (plumb of a mason), shumë për të u paguar, peshore (scale, scales, weigher, weighing machine), peshoj (calculate, cogitate, look around, ponder, scale, weigh, weigh out), mbaj në ekuilibër, ekuilibër (equilibrium, equipoise, evenness, poise), drejtpeshim (counterpoise, poise). (various references) | |
Arabic | تعادل الجانبين السلبى و الإيجابى, رصيد حساب, إهتز (jerk, pounce, quake, quiver, rock, shake, shiver, shook, shudder, swing, thrill, throb, toss, tremble, vibrate, wag, waggle), التعادل, زين يزخرف (adorn, garnish, illustrate), زين يكيل, تردد (ambivalence, backwards, be in two minds, boggle, crane, demur, difficulty, d |
