<p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.</li><li>something used to produce equilibrium; counterpoise.</li><li>mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment, etc.</li><li>a state of bodily equilibrium: He lost his balance and fell down the stairs.</li><li>an instrument for determining weight, typically by the equilibrium of a bar with a fulcrum at the center, from each end of which is suspended a scale or pan, one holding an object of known weight, and the other holding the object to be weighed.</li><li>the remainder or rest: He carried what he could and left the balance for his brother to bring.</li><li>the power or ability to decide an outcome by throwing one's strength, influence, support, or the like, to one side or the other.</li><li>(in winemaking) the degree to which all the attributes of a wine are in harmony, with none either too prominent or deficient.</li><li>Accounting: equality between the totals of the two sides of an account.</li><li>the difference between the debit total and the credit total of an account.</li><li>unpaid difference represented by the excess of debits over credits.</li><li>an adjustment of accounts.</li><li>the act of balancing; comparison as to weight, amount, importance, etc.; estimate.</li><li>preponderating weight: The balance of the blame is on your side.</li><li>Fine Arts: composition or placement of elements of design, as figures, forms, or colors, in such a manner as to produce an aesthetically pleasing or harmoniously integrated whole.</li><li>Dance: a balancing movement.</li><li>Also called balance wheel: a wheel that oscillates against the tension of a hairspring to regulate the beats of a watch or clock.</li><li>Balance, Astronomy, Astrology: the constellation or sign of Libra; Scales.</li><li>Audio: (in a stereophonic sound system) the comparative loudness of two speakers, usually set by a control balance control on the amplifier or receiver.</li></ul><p><strong>Verb (used with object)</strong></p><ul><li>balanced, balancing.</li><li>to bring to or hold in equilibrium; poise: to balance a book on one's head.</li><li>to arrange, adjust, or proportion the parts of symmetrically.</li><li>to be equal or proportionate to: I'm always happy when cash on hand balances expected expenses. One side of an equation must balance the other.</li><li>Accounting: to add up the two sides of (an account) and determine the difference.</li><li>to make the necessary entries in (an account) so that the sums of the two sides will be equal.</li><li>to settle by paying what remains due on an account; equalize or adjust.</li><li>to weigh in a balance.</li><li>to estimate the relative weight or importance of; compare: to balance all the probabilities of a situation.</li><li>to serve as a counterpoise to; counterbalance; offset: The advantages more than balance the disadvantages.</li><li>Dance: to move in rhythm to and from: to balance one's partner.</li></ul><p><strong>Verb (used without object)</strong></p><ul><li>balanced, balancing.</li><li>to have an equality or equivalence in weight, parts, etc.; be in equilibrium: The account doesn't balance. Do these scales balance?</li><li>Accounting: to reckon or adjust accounts.</li><li>to waver or hesitate: He would balance and temporize endlessly before reaching a decision.</li><li>Dance: to move forward and backward or in opposite directions.</li></ul>