balance sheet

American  

noun

Accounting.

• balance sheets
  plural

1. a tabular statement of both sides of a set of accounts in which the debit and credit balances add up as equal.

2. a statement of the financial position of a business on a specified date.

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balance sheet British  

noun

1. a statement that shows the financial position of a business enterprise at a specified date by listing the asset balances and the claims on such assets

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balance sheet Cultural  

1. An orderly account of the assets of a company or individual and of the financial claims on those assets by others.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• balance sheets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of balance sheet

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

balance sheet

Berkshire, a conglomerate of high-quality businesses with a strong balance sheet, has outperformed dramatically during periods of extreme market stress.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

“Lyft also has a cleaner balance sheet with $900 million in total debt versus $23.5 billion for Uber,” Lemonides said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

The German car maker has an impeccable balance sheet and a great new electric-vehicle platform.

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

Now comes the moment for new arrivals to make their mark on the pitch rather than the balance sheet.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

There was no real reason that company had to be AIG; it could have been any triple-A-rated entity with a huge balance sheet.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis