equilibrist

American  

[ih-kwil-uh-brist, ee-kwuh-lib-rist, ek-wuh-] / ɪˈkwɪl ə brɪst, ˌi kwəˈlɪb rɪst, ˌɛk wə- /

noun

1. a performer who is skilled at balancing in unusual positions and hazardous movements, as a tightrope walker in a circus.

---

equilibrist British  

/ ɪˈkwɪlɪbrɪst /

noun

1. a person who performs balancing feats, esp on a high wire

---

Other Word Forms

• equilibristic
  adjective

---

Etymology

Origin of equilibrist

From the French word équilibriste, dating back to 1750–60. See equilibrium, -ist

---

Explanation

An equilibrist is a person who performs daring feats of balance. If you had to carry supplies across a sagging rope bridge with no handrails, being an equilibrist would help. Most equilibrists are performers who've mastered the art of equilibrium, such as circus tightrope walkers and high-wire acrobats. An equilibrist might balance on their hands, ride a unicycle, or perform atop a stack of chairs. A particularly daring equilibrist might walk across a steep canyon on a slackwire (a loose rope that can sway from side to side, unlike a tightrope) while juggling! The word equilibrist is sometimes used figuratively to describe someone balancing many different tasks and competing interests at once.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

equilibrist

Mr. Cady greeted Bob with listless enthusiasm, teetering the while upon his cane like a Japanese equilibrist.

From The Auction Block by Rex Ellingwood Beach

He was laboring over a gigantic treadmill, balancing like an equilibrist upon a revolving sphere.

From Rainbow's End by Rex Ellingwood Beach

The steward brought me my coffee, and, wedged by boxes and pillows, like an equilibrist, I sat up and drank it. 

From The Mutiny of the Elsinore by Jack London

Besides her chief accomplishment she possessed wonderful strength and was a skilled equilibrist.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Walter L. (Walter Lytle) Pyle

Or merely a feint to thrill us?—the feint of an equilibrist so secure that he can pretend to lose his balance?

From And Even Now by Sir Max Beerbohm

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---