balance : Idioms & Phrases

Index

acid-base balance

  • noun (physiology) the normal equilibrium between acids and alkalis in the body
    acid-base equilibrium.
    • with a normal acid-base balance in the body the blood is slightly alkaline
WordNet

analytical balance

  • noun a beam balance of great precision used in quantitative chemical analysis
    analytical balance.
WordNet

Axis of a balance

  • that line about which it turns.
Webster 1913

balance beam

  • noun a gymnastic apparatus used by women gymnasts
    beam.
WordNet

Balance electrometer

  • a kind of balance, with a poised beam, which indicates, by weights suspended from one arm, the mutual attraction of oppositely electrified surfaces. Knight.
Webster 1913

Balance fish

  • . (Zoöl) See Hammerhead.
Webster 1913

Balance knife

  • a carving or table knife the handle of which overbalances the blade, and so keeps it from contact with the table.
Webster 1913

balance of international payments

  • noun a system of recording all of a country's economic transactions with the rest of the world over a period of one year
    balance of international payments.
    • a favorable balance of payments exists when more payments are coming in than going out
WordNet

balance of payments

  • noun a system of recording all of a country's economic transactions with the rest of the world over a period of one year
    balance of international payments.
    • a favorable balance of payments exists when more payments are coming in than going out
WordNet

Balance of power

  • noun an equilibrium of power between nations
WordNet
  • . (Politics), such an adjustment of power among sovereign states that no one state is in a position to interfere with the independence of the others; international equilibrium; also, the ability ( of a state or a third party within a state) to control the relations between sovereign states or between dominant parties in a state.
Webster 1913

Balance of torsion

  • . See Torsion Balance.
Webster 1913

Balance of trade

  • noun the difference in value over a period of time of a country's imports and exports of merchandise
    trade gap; trade balance; balance of trade.
    • a nation's balance of trade is favorable when its exports exceed its imports
WordNet
  • (Pol. Econ.), an equilibrium between the money values of the exports and imports of a country; or more commonly, the amount required on one side or the other to make such an equilibrium.
Webster 1913

Balance sheet

  • noun a record of the financial situation of an institution on a particular date by listing its assets and the claims against those assets
WordNet
  • (Bookkeeping), a paper showing the balances of the open accounts of a business, the debit and credit balances footing up equally, if the system of accounts be complete and the balances correctly taken.
Webster 1913

Balance thermometer

  • a thermometer mounted as a balance so that the movement of the mercurial column changes the indication of the tube. With the aid of electrical or mechanical devices adapted to it, it is used for the automatic regulation of the temperature of rooms warmed artificially, and as a fire alarm.
Webster 1913

Balance valve

  • a valve whose surfaces are so arranged that the fluid pressure tending to seat, and that tending to unseat the valve, are nearly in equilibrium; esp., a puppet valve which is made to operate easily by the admission of steam to both sides. See Puppet valve.
Webster 1913

balance wheel

  • noun a wheel that regulates the rate of movement in a machine; especially a wheel oscillating against the hairspring of a timepiece to regulate its beat
    balance.
WordNet
Bal"ance wheel`
Definitions
  1. (Horology) (a) A wheel which regulates the beats or pulses of a watch or chronometer, answering to the pendulum of a clock; -- often called simply a balance. (b) A ratchet-shaped scape wheel, which in some watches is acted upon by the axis of the balance wheel proper (in those watches called a balance).
  2. (Mach.) A wheel which imparts regularity to the movements of any engine or machine; a fly wheel.
Webster 1913

balance-of-payments problem

  • noun an economic problem caused by payments for imports being greater than receipts for exports
WordNet

balanced budget

  • noun a budget is balanced when current expenditures are equal to receipts
WordNet

balanced diet

  • noun a diet that contains adequate amounts of all the necessary nutrients required for healthy growth and activity
WordNet

Balanced valve

  • . See Balance valve, under Balance, n.
Webster 1913

beam balance

  • noun a balance consisting of a lever with two equal arms and a pan suspended from each arm
WordNet

chemical balance

  • noun a beam balance of great precision used in quantitative chemical analysis
    analytical balance.
WordNet

Coin balance

  • . See Illust. of Balance.
Webster 1913

Compensated balance

  • a kind of balance wheel for a timepiece. The rim is usually made of two different expansibility under changes of temperature, so arranged as to counteract each other and preserve uniformity of movement.
Webster 1913

compensating balance

  • noun a minimum credit balance that a bank may require a borrower to keep on deposit as a condition for granting a loan; a common requirement for establishing a line of credit at a bank
    compensating balance.
    • the compensating balance increases the effective interest rate to the bank since the net amount loaned is reduced but the interest paid is unchanged
WordNet

Compensation balance

  • or
Webster 1913

dynamic balance

  • noun (aeronautics) the state of equilibrium in which centrifugal forces due to a rotating mass (e.g., a propeller) do not produce force in the shaft and so vibration is reduced
WordNet

electrolyte balance

  • noun an equilibrium between the amounts of electrolytes (as calcium and sodium and potassium) that is essential for normal health and functioning
WordNet

electronic balance

  • noun a balance that generates a current proportional to the displacement of the pan
WordNet

Hydrostatic balance

  • a balance for weighing substances in water, for the purpose of ascertaining their specific gravities.
Webster 1913

invisible balance

  • noun the difference in value over a period of time of a country's imports and exports of services and payments of property incomes
WordNet

libra the balance

  • noun the seventh sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about September 23 to October 22
    Balance; Libra; Libra the Scales.
WordNet

mental balance

  • noun the healthy psychological state of someone with good judgment
    mental soundness.
WordNet

nitrogen balance

  • noun the balance between the amount of nitrogen taken in (to the soil or the body) and the amount given off (lost or excreted)
WordNet

offsetting balance

  • noun a minimum credit balance that a bank may require a borrower to keep on deposit as a condition for granting a loan; a common requirement for establishing a line of credit at a bank
    compensating balance.
    • the compensating balance increases the effective interest rate to the bank since the net amount loaned is reduced but the interest paid is unchanged
WordNet

Roman balance

  • a form of balance nearly resembling the modern steelyard. See the Note under Balance, n., 1.
Webster 1913

self-balancing

  • adjective satellite of someone or something that balances himself or itself
WordNet

sense of balance

  • noun a sensory system located in structures of the inner ear that registers the orientation of the head
    labyrinthine sense; sense of equilibrium; vestibular sense; equilibrium.
WordNet

Spring balance

  • noun a balance that measure weight by the tension on a helical spring
    spring scale.
WordNet
  • a contrivance for measuring weight or force by the elasticity of a spiral spring of steel.
Webster 1913

Thermic balance

  • . See Bolometer.
Webster 1913

To lay in balance

  • to put up as a pledge or security. Obs. Chaucer.
Webster 1913

To strike a balance

  • to find out the difference between the debit and credit sides of an account.
Webster 1913

To strike an attitude, To strike a balance

  • . See under Attitude, and Balance.
Webster 1913

To turn the scale ∨ balance

  • to change the preponderance; to decide or determine something doubtful.
Webster 1913

Torsion balance

  • noun measuring instrument designed to measure small forces by the torsion they exert on a thin wire
WordNet
  • (Physics.), an instrument for estimating very minute forces, as electric or magnetic attractions and repulsions, by the torsion of a very slender wire or fiber having at its lower extremity a horizontal bar or needle, upon which the forces act.
Webster 1913

trade balance

  • noun the difference in value over a period of time of a country's imports and exports of merchandise
    trade gap; trade balance; balance of trade.
    • a nation's balance of trade is favorable when its exports exceed its imports
WordNet

trial balance

  • noun a balance of debits and credits in double-entry bookkeeping; drawn up to test their equality
WordNet

visible balance

  • noun the difference in value over a period of time of a country's imports and exports of merchandise
    trade gap; trade balance; balance of trade.
    • a nation's balance of trade is favorable when its exports exceed its imports
WordNet

weal-balanced

Weal"-bal`anced adjective
Definitions
  1. Balanced or considered with reference to public weal. Obs. Shak.
Webster 1913

well-balanced

  • adjective satellite in an optimal state of balance or equilibrium
    • a well-balanced wheel
  • adjective satellite free from psychological disorder
    well-adjusted.
    • a well-adjusted personality
WordNet