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balance of power

noun
  1. a distribution and opposition of forces among nations such that no single nation is strong enough to assert its will or dominate all the others.
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Origin of balance of power

First recorded in 1570–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for balance of power

Historical Examples

  • This class, according to Gov. Ford, "made a kind of balance-of-power party."

    The Life Of Abraham Lincoln

    Ward H. Lamon

British Dictionary definitions for balance of power

balance of power

noun
  1. the distribution of power among countries so that no one nation can seriously threaten the fundamental interests of another
  2. any similar distribution of power or influence
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
balance of power in Culture

balance of power

A state of peace that results when rival nations are equally powerful and therefore have no good reason to wage war.

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.