on balance

Idioms  

1. Taking everything into consideration, as in On balance I think we've had a very good year. This expression, which in effect means “balancing all the factors involved,” was first recorded in 1719.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

on balance

Officials noted that, on balance, the reconstruction is reducing student capacity at these schools, which also allows for more open space and recreation areas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

But false positives were common, and whether getting a full-body scan stands to, on balance, increase your lifespan is unknown.

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026

He added: "It's not up there, yet, with the Harry Potter or Stranger Things prequels but, on balance, the Game of Thrones franchise has yet another worthwhile and lucrative spin-off on its hands."

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

When that happens, it usually means that insiders on balance are not confident that the market will recover quickly enough to make waiting to sell worth their while.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026

Does helping one person really matter, on balance?

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

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