balance

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
balance/ˈbaləns/

▶noun

• 1 an even distribution of weight ensuring stability.

  ■ Sailing the ability of a boat to stay on course without adjustment of the rudder.

• 2 mental or emotional stability.

• 3 a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions.

• 4 an apparatus for weighing, especially one with a central pivot, beam, and two scales.

• 5 a counteracting weight or force.

  ■ (also balance wheel) the regulating device in a clock or watch.

• 6 a predominating amount; a preponderance: the balance of opinion was that work was important.

• 7 a figure representing the amount of money held in an account: his bank balance.

  ■ the difference between an amount due and an amount paid.

▶verb

• 1 be or put in a steady position.

• 2 offset or compare the value of (one thing) with another.

  ■ (often as adj. balanced) establish equal or appropriate proportions of elements in: a balanced diet.

• 3 compare debits and credits in (an account) to ensure that they are equal.

– phrases
balance of payments the difference in total value between payments into and out of a country over a period.
balance of power

• 1 a situation in which 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 a country's imports and exports.
be (or hang) in the balance be in an uncertain or critical state.
on balance when all factors are taken into consideration.
throw (or catch) someone off balance make someone unsteady or catch someone unawares.

– derivatives
balancer noun.

– origin ME: from OFr. balance (n.), balancer (v.), based on late L. (libra) bilanx ‘(balance) having two scale-pans’.