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

“This is Airbnb asking the question of how it can use its balance sheet and the resources available to it to contribute to improving housing affordability,” Hornung said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 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

But even when all these are added in, "two-thirds of the universe is still missing from the balance sheet," as one commentator has put it.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson