balance beam
Americannoun
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balance beams
plural
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a narrow wooden rail about 16 feet (5 meters) long and 4 inches (10 centimeters) wide, set horizontally on upright posts about 4 feet (1.2 meters) from the floor, used for performing feats of balancing and demonstrating gymnastic ability.
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a competitive gymnastic event for women in which such an apparatus is used.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of balance beam
First recorded in 1945–50
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.
During the third rotation, the Bruins moved to the balance beam, an event they struggled with during their third place finish in Utah last week.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2026
Moving over to the balance beam, the Bruins struggled at the start, with Matthews falling and Sumanasekera wobbling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 10, 2026
Former Pac-12 rivals Utah battled rare-shaky performances on balance beam — including a fall from All-American Grace McCallum — while Missouri never threatened second place, only recording five 9.9 or higher scores during the meet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2025
Malabuyo represented the Philippines at the 2024 Paris Olympics and is ranked third in the nation on balance beam with a 9.925 average score across the first four meets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2025
The problem was, instead of shaking off my disaster on bars, I was still feeling sorry for myself as I hopped up onto the balance beam.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
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.
