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equilibrate

American  
[ih-kwil-uh-brayt, ee-kwuh-lahy-brayt, ek-wuh-] / ɪˈkwɪl əˌbreɪt, ˌi kwəˈlaɪ breɪt, ˌɛk wə- /

verb (used with object)

equilibrated, equilibrating
  1. to balance equally; keep in equipoise or equilibrium.

  2. to be in equilibrium with; counterpoise.


verb (used without object)

equilibrated, equilibrating
  1. to be in equilibrium; balance.

equilibrate British  
/ ˌiːkwɪˈlaɪbreɪt, ɪˈkwɪlɪˌbreɪt, ɪˌkwɪlɪ- /

verb

  1. to bring to or be in equilibrium; balance

"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

Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of equilibrate

1625–35; < Late Latin aequilībrātus, past participle of aequilībrāre to be in equilibrium; see -ate 1


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.

See Examples For:

Greenspan’s faith that self discipline would effectively equilibrate financial markets proved to be his blind spot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

Without the sunlight — an external source of energy — the temperature of the rod will equilibrate to the temperature of its environment.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2023

These processes help equilibrate the air to the body conditions, reducing any damage that cold, dry air can cause.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

“Whenever there is a new recommendation, there are the early adopters who are extremely eager to want to get that booster right now,” she said, adding that “supply and demand will equilibrate in short order.”

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 4, 2021

A Rule to equilibrate Solids in the water.

From Discourse on Floating Bodies by Galileo Galilei

I said,” No, she just has an elevated body temperature, because we’ve been sitting in a car that’s equilibrated with the outdoor weather.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2021

The way that footballs are pumped, equilibrated to the right temperature, and tested for pressure requires uniformity and perhaps transparency.

From Time ● Jan. 29, 2015

What I dream of," he wrote, "is an art that is equilibrated, pure and calm, free of disturbing subject matter ... a means of soothing the soul . . . like a comfortable armchair.

From Time Magazine Archive

Great minds with wills badly equilibrated are like comets, which are abortive suns.

From The Browning Cyclop?dia A Guide to the Study of the Works of Robert Browning by Edward Berdoe

The general trend seems to be the establishment of a better balanced, equilibrated type.

From The Glands Regulating Personality by Louis Berman M.D.

If the temperature is equilibrating and the tank is no longer venting substances in the air, one possibility is that the reaction could be done.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026

I fear that those institutions are being so fundamentally damaged that their traditionally equilibrating mechanisms might not work.

From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026

“There are still a lot of equilibrating mechanisms built into our system — not just political, but economic,” Putnam said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2022

The reason that values, whether they be the values of new and novel things, or the values of old and familiar things, tend to come to an equilibrium is that gains come from equilibrating them.

From The Value of Money by Benjamin M. Anderson

Any derangement or disease of these canals interferes with equilibration; this is well shown in Ménière's disease, in which there is always marked disturbance of the equilibrating function.

From The Dawn of Reason or, Mental Traits in the Lower Animals by James Weir

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