equilibrium - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com

Equilibrium is a state of balance. If you play sports so much that you don't have time for your studies, you need to study more and play less, unless sports and studying reach a point of equilibrium. Or become a professional athlete.

The word equilibrium is commonly used to refer to mental or emotional balance, and a near synonym in this sense is composure. In chemistry, equilibrium is the condition existing when a chemical reaction and its reverse reaction occur at equal rates. This noun is from Latin aequilībrium, from the prefix aequi- "equal" plus lībra "a balance, scale."

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: equilibrium

1	n	a stable situation in which forces cancel one another
2	n	a sensory system located in structures of the inner ear that registers the orientation of the head
3	n	a chemical reaction and its reverse proceed at equal rates

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: equilibrium

1

n a stable situation in which forces cancel one another

Antonyms:: disequilibrium
loss of equilibrium attributable to an unstable situation in which some forces outweigh others

Types:: show 11 types...; hide 11 types...; balance
a state of equilibrium; balance of power
an equilibrium of power between nations; dynamic balance
(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; homeostasis
(physiology) metabolic equilibrium actively maintained by several complex biological mechanisms that operate via the autonomic nervous system to offset disrupting changes; isostasy
(geology) a general equilibrium of the forces tending to elevate or depress the earth's crust; Nash equilibrium
(game theory) a stable state of a system that involves several interacting participants in which no participant can gain by a change of strategy as long as all the other participants remain unchanged; poise
a state of being balanced in a stable equilibrium; thermal equilibrium
a state in which all parts of a system are at the same temperature; tension
a balance between and interplay of opposing elements or tendencies (especially in art or literature); electrolyte balance
an equilibrium between the amounts of electrolytes (as calcium and sodium and potassium) that is essential for normal health and functioning; nitrogen balance
the balance between the amount of nitrogen taken in (to the soil or the body) and the amount given off (lost or excreted)

Type of:: situation, state of affairs
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time

n equality of distribution

Synonyms:: balance, counterbalance, equipoise

Types:: conformation
a symmetrical arrangement of the parts of a thing; proportion, symmetry
balance among the parts of something

Type of:: construction, structure
a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts

2

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

Synonyms:: labyrinthine sense, sense of balance, sense of equilibrium, vestibular sense

Type of:: proprioception
the ability to sense the position and location and orientation and movement of the body and its parts

3

n a chemical reaction and its reverse proceed at equal rates

Synonyms:: chemical equilibrium

Types:: acid-base balance, acid-base equilibrium
(physiology) the normal equilibrium between acids and alkalis in the body

Type of:: chemical reaction, reaction
(chemistry) a process in which one or more substances are changed into others