equilibrist
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Besides her chief accomplishment she possessed wonderful strength and was a skilled equilibrist.
From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)
At that time I was a contortionist and they called me the Snake-Man; then I became an equilibrist and adopted the name of Don Alonso.
From The Quest by Goldberg, Isaac
They are narrow enough to test the skill of an equilibrist, and it may be they are put down to drill the courtiers in that useful art.
From Empires and Emperors of Russia, China, Korea, and Japan Notes and Recollections by Monsignor Count Vay de Vaya and Luskod by Vay, P?ter
He was laboring over a gigantic treadmill, balancing like an equilibrist upon a revolving sphere.
From Rainbow's End by Beach, Rex Ellingwood
Mr. Cady greeted Bob with listless enthusiasm, teetering the while upon his cane like a Japanese equilibrist.
From The Auction Block by Beach, Rex Ellingwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
