balance

«balance» in Mova's school dictionary: being steady so you do not fall: «keep your balance» — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (balance, balances); verb (balance, balances, balanced, balancing)

meaning for a pupil

1) Balance is being steady so you do not fall: «keep your balance». tree →

2) A balance is a scale with two pans; when it balances, both sides weigh the same. tree →

3) The balance of a bank account is how much money is in it. tree →

4) A balance is the right mix: «a balanced diet» has some of each kind of food. tree →

5) To balance something is to hold it steady, or make two sides equal. tree →

sense in the lessons

In school maths: a scale to compare weights (both sides equal, like an equation); also money left in an account after spending or saving. In science: balanced and unbalanced forces; balanced diet. In everyday life and PE: balancing on a beam, riding a bike, a balance bike. Phrases: «keep your balance», «lose your balance», «a balanced diet», «bank balance», «on balance» (thinking of everything).

examples

• The scale balances with 3 apples on one side and 1 melon on the other. tree →
• Her bank balance is 120 dollars. tree →
• After spending 30 dollars, what is the balance? tree →
• Two boxes balance one bag. tree →
• She lost her balance and fell off the beam. tree →
• A balanced diet includes fruit and vegetables. tree →
• Can you balance a book on your head? tree →
• The forces are balanced, so the box does not move. tree →
• The man then pulled his nose gently, which caused him to lose his balance. tree →

note

Stress on the first part: «BAL-ance». Maths: a balance means equal amounts on both sides, like an equation; whatever you add to one side you add to the other. Trap: «balance» of money is what is left, found by adding deposits and taking away spending.

In the corpora

• Drunk means so much alcohol that balance, speech and judgement stop working properly; drunk people can fall, fight and act unpredictably.
• Balance means getting each part at the right volume so every part can be heard; being loudest does not make you sound best.
• Orchestras usually seat the quieter strings at the front and the louder brass and percussion at the back, to balance the sound.
• Many zoos have stopped tricks like ball balancing and show natural behaviour instead.
• An animal that keeps a whole habitat in balance, like the sea otter, is called a keystone species.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «balance» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.