equilibrium

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The condition of a system in which competing influences are balanced, resulting in no net change.

   To Hydroſtaticks belong whatever relates to the Gravities and Equilibria of Liquors; with the Art of weighing Bodies in Water, in order to eſtimate the ſpecifick Gravities.

2. 2
   noun

   Mental balance.

   Tiffany Pollard: What just happened?! Eric Andre: That coffee mug is broken. Tiffany Pollard: I can't take this. This is gonna mess up my equilibrium.

3. 3
   noun

   The state of a body at rest or in uniform motion in which the resultant of all forces on it is zero.

   It now appears that the locomotive did not blow up, as was commonly stated at the time, but that the aeroplane flew so low as to come into contact with the dome of the engine, knocking it off. It was the combination of the impact and the uprush of steam that so disturbed the equilibrium of the raider as to cause it to crash.

4. 4
   noun

   a sensory system located in structures of the inner ear that registers the orientation of the head

5. 5
   noun

   a chemical reaction and its reverse proceed at equal rates

6. 6
   noun

   equality of distribution

7. 7
   noun

   a stable situation in which forces cancel one another

8. 8
   noun

   The state of a reaction in which the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are the same.

Etymology

From Latin aequilībrium, from equal + lībra (“balance”).