compensating balance

[kom-puhn-sey-ting bal-uhns]

noun

1. Also compensated balance, compensation balance. a balance wheel in a timepiece, designed to compensate for variations in tension in the hair spring caused by changes in temperature.

2. Banking.,  a deposit balance that is required to be left on deposit by a company to maintain or guarantee credit.

Word History and Origins

Origin of compensating balance¹

First recorded in 1795–1805

Example Sentences

Also to Charles V. Woerd, mechanical superintendent of the American Watch Company, Waltham, Mass., U. S. A., a first-class award for his new mode of compensating balances.

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But I am defeated utterly by the man who talks about escapements, compensating balances and clutches.

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Thus, the compensating balances of life and death, right and wrong, forever tip the beam of justice.

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Except for the fact that he had tried to do right, he could see no compensating balance.

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To lessen this shock, a compensating balance was designed, but which is not now in use.

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