1. A state of equilibrium
   "She struggled to maintain her balance on the icy pavement"
    
2. Equality between the totals of the credit and debit sides of an account
   "The accountant was pleased to see the balance in the ledger"
    
3. 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";
   - proportion, proportionality
    
4. Equality of distribution
   "The designer achieved balance in the room's layout";
   - equilibrium, equipoise, counterbalance
    
5. The difference between the totals of the credit and debit sides of an account
   "After all expenses were paid, the balance in the account was positive"
    
6. Something left after other parts have been taken away
   "he took what he wanted and I got the balance";
   - remainder, residual, residue, residuum, rest
    
7. (mathematics) an attribute of a shape or relation; exact reflection of form on opposite sides of a dividing line or plane
   "The balance of the butterfly's wings was striking";
   - symmetry, symmetricalness, correspondence
    
8. A scale for weighing; depends on pull of gravity
   "The pharmacist used a precise balance to measure the medication"
    
9. A weight that balances another weight
   "The crane used a balance to maintain stability";
   - counterweight, counterbalance, counterpoise, equalizer, equaliser [Brit]
    
10. 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
    "The watchmaker carefully adjusted the balance wheel";
    - balance wheel

1. Bring into balance or equilibrium
   "She has to balance work and her domestic duties"; "balance the two weights";
   - equilibrate, equilibrize, equilibrise [Brit]
    
2. Be in equilibrium
   "He was balancing on one foot"
    
3. Hold or carry in equilibrium
   "She balanced the book on her head";
   - poise
    
4. Compute credits and debits of an account
   "The accountant balanced the books at the end of the fiscal year"; "She balanced her chequebook every month"

1. The seventh sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about September 23 to October 22
   - Libra, Libra the Balance, Libra the Scales
    
2. (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Libra
   - Libra

Derived forms: balancing, balances, balanced

Type of: account, actor, arrangement, be, bear, carry, component, component part, constituent, construction, difference, doer, equality, equilibrium, fit, hold, house, mansion, match, part, placement, planetary house, portion, remainder, scale, sign, sign of the zodiac, spatial property, spatiality, star sign, structure, weighing machine, weight, wheel, worker

Antonym: asymmetry, imbalance, unbalance

Part of: account, account statement, accounting, horologe [archaic], timekeeper, timepiece

Encyclopedia: Balance, Not Symmetry