poise
1 Americannoun
-
a dignified, self-confident manner or bearing; composure; self-possession.
to show poise in company.
- Synonyms:
- refinement, grace, polish, self-confidence
-
steadiness; stability.
intellectual poise.
- Antonyms:
- instability
-
a state of balance or equilibrium, as from equality or equal distribution of weight; equipoise.
- Antonyms:
- imbalance, disequilibrium
-
suspense or wavering, as between rest and motion or two phases of motion.
the poise of the tides.
-
the way of being poised, held, or carried.
-
the state or position of hovering.
the poise of a bird in the air.
verb (used with object)
-
poises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
poised,
past participle, past
-
poising
present participle
-
to adjust, hold, or carry in equilibrium; balance evenly.
-
to hold supported or raised, as in position for casting, using, etc..
to poise a spear.
-
to hold or carry in a particular manner.
She walked, carefully poising a water jug on her head.
-
to put (a person or thing) in a state or position of readiness or preparedness: The mayor is credited with poising the city for impressive growth and development.
He has poised himself to succeed.
The mayor is credited with poising the city for impressive growth and development.
-
Obsolete. to weigh.
verb (used without object)
-
poises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
poised,
past participle, past
-
poising
present participle
-
to rest in equilibrium; be balanced.
-
to hover, as a bird in the air.
noun
noun
-
composure or dignity of manner
-
physical balance or assurance in movement or bearing
-
the state of being balanced or stable; equilibrium; stability
-
the position of hovering
-
suspense or indecision
verb
-
to be or cause to be balanced or suspended
-
(tr) to hold, as in readiness
to poise a lance
-
(tr) a rare word for weigh 1
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
poisesimple
-
poisessimple
-
have poisedperfect
-
has poisedperfect
-
am poisingprogressive
-
are poisingprogressive
-
is poisingprogressive
-
have been poisingperfect progressive
-
has been poisingperfect progressive
Past
-
poisedsimple
-
had poisedperfect
-
was poisingprogressive
-
were poisingprogressive
-
had been poisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of poise1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun pois(e) “weight,” from Old French ( French poids ), from Late Latin pēnsum, noun use of neuter past participle of Latin pendere “to weigh”; Middle English verb poisen “to weigh,” from Old French poiser, variant, based on tonic stem, of peser, from Latin pēnsāre, frequentative of pendere
Origin of poise2
First recorded in 1910–15; from French; named after Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille (1799–1869), French physician
Explanation
If you have poise, you are cool under stress. People with poise can handle pressure without showing it. If you’re calm while singing the national anthem in front of thirty million people, you’ve got a lot of poise. This is a rare quality people admire. Another meaning is to brace yourself for something difficult, as in: when you hear about a tornado, you're poised for more bad news. You can also be poised as in "on the brink" of something. If you stand on the diving board it could be said you’re poised to take the plunge.
Vocabulary lists containing poise
The Things They Carried
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"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 1
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One of Us Is Lying
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Simpson did not start, but he played with confidence and poise while leading three scoring drives, including two for touchdowns in the second half.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
The Daily Telegraph, external echoed that a "decent director" was needed, concluding that the show is "delivered with too much actorly poise, and no sense whatsoever for comic timing".
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Kennard’s poise was been paramount for the team during an emotional week.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2026
Navigating that kind of rupture would take poise, flexibility, and tact.
From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2026
You can’t teach a baby to walk by explaining the matter to her logically—she has to learn the strange poise of walking by experience.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Then there’s that open, teeth-exposing, wonder-filled smile that poises sheer delight on the brink of a bottomless despair, two states of feeling that somehow both negate and enhance each other.
From New York Times ● Mar. 8, 2019
Others include pacifiers with a part that poises a choking hazard to young children.
From Seattle Times ● May 6, 2016
Choosing permanent head of division poises an early quandary for John Brennan.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 28, 2013
As it poises for further immigration initiatives, U.S.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 27, 2010
The ill-made knight turned to his oldest friend, to the first person he had loved with his poises.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
And now they are poised to begin that most rare of modern phenomenons - a multi-week tour that includes a proper Test series.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
AEM remains poised to expand its revenue streams, which could drive its profitability to new highs, he adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Bonta and Paramount are now poised to slug it out next spring in an Oakland courtroom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Tech stocks look poised to recover from Thursday’s memory-led drubbing while the broad market is mixed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
A kudu stood, one foot poised, near the water; a monkey gazed at Nhamo from his perch in a mobola plum tree.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
But that hasn’t slowed down the scooter-makers: Both Bird and Lime have raised hundreds of millions in venture capital funding, poising the companies to continue to expanding across the country.
From Slate ● Dec. 10, 2018
The Greeley Fire Department determined the people had carbon monoxide poising and 22 people were taken to a hospital Saturday night.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 30, 2018
Last week a glittering aluminum Ceres took her place on the city's skyline, poising her twinkling magnificence on top of Chicago's tallest office pylon, the new 44-story, 609 ft.
From Time Magazine Archive
A white hedonist basking deliciously among South Sea Islanders and a sturdy Cape Codder poising his malicious harpoon over boiling seas, join incongruously in the popular impression of Herman Melville.
From Time Magazine Archive
I cracked my knuckles and grabbed the Player Two joystick with my left hand, poising my right hand over the Flap button.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
