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equilibrate

American  
[ih-kwil-uh-breyt, ee-kwuh-lahy-breyt, 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, ˌiːkwɪlaɪˈbreɪʃən, ɪˈkwɪlɪˌbreɪt, ɪˈkwɪlɪˌbreɪtə, 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

“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

The middle ear is connected to the pharynx through the Eustachian tube, which helps equilibrate air pressure across the tympanic membrane.

From Textbooks Jun. 19, 2013

A Rule to equilibrate Solids in the water.

From Discourse on Floating Bodies by Galilei, Galileo

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

Through disuse of the sword and the spade their hands were directly equilibrated towards smallness.

From Herbert Spencer by Thomson, J. Arthur (John Arthur)

Necessarily incident to these great, immense, equilibrated and beneficent movements, caused by the antagonism of equatorial heat and polar cold, are the typhoons, tornadoes, and cyclones that result from conflicts between the rushing currents.

From Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry by Pike, Albert

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

Then we look at supply and demand, and at the equilibrating dynamics, which causes the topic of the Phillipscurve.

From Definition & Reality in the General Theory of Political Economy by Colignatus, Thomas

It is the key to the relation between Law and Personality, the opening of the Grand Arcanum, the equilibrating of Jachin and Boaz, and it is therefore of immediate importance to ourselves.

From The Law and the Word by Troward, T. (Thomas)

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