balance
/ˈbæləns/ nounDefinition
› [C, usually singular] BANKING the difference in the amount of money that has come into and gone out of a bank account in a particular period: Virtually all financial records - bank balances, mutual fund, and brokerage records - are held in electronic form. I checked my balance at the ATM. → See also adverse balance of trade, balance of trade, cash balance, closing balance, credit balance, compensating balance, debit balance, idle balance, opening balance, trial balance, unfavourable balance, unsold balance
› [C, usually singular] ACCOUNTING the amount shown in a company's financial records that is the difference between the total credits and the total debits in a particular account: This balance is then transferred to the profit and loss account. → See also adverse balance of trade, double declining balance
› [C, usually singular] FINANCE the amount of money that you still owe after you have paid a part of the total amount: Cut your outstanding mortgage balance and your monthly repayments will also come down.
› [C] FINANCE the amount of money that you owe on a credit card account: He is one of millions of people who does not pay off his credit card balance every month. → See also balance transfer
› [S] the remaining part of an amount: We ordered 200 copies; 50 to be delivered now and the balance next month.
› [S or U] the state where things exist in equal amounts or are of equal importance: They are looking for a better balance between internet security and ease of use. You need to find a balance between the demands of work and those of your home life. → See also competitive balance, work-life balance
(Definition of balance noun from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary
© Cambridge University Press)
Browse the Thesaurus
More Results for “balance”
Word of the Day
Blog
Read our blog about how the English language behaves.
New Words
Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.
