hang in the balance

Idioms  

1. Be in a precarious condition or in a state of suspense. For example, The doctor said her life was hanging in the balance. This expression alludes to the suspended balance scale where an object is placed in one pan and weights are added one by one to the other pan until the two are balanced. [First half of 1400s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hang in the balance

“I feel also sorry for the United States,” Solbakken said, “because if they win, that will always hang in the balance for it.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

After two World Cup outings, Scotland's hopes of progressing from Group C hang in the balance.

From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026

And for that reason, it carries real upside for TPS holders whose lives hang in the balance.

From Slate ● Mar. 17, 2026

“Because, respectfully, I cannot abide our repeated, gratuitous, and harmful interference with cases pending in the lower courts while lives hang in the balance, I dissent.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2025

Sometimes the outcome really does teeter and hang in the balance.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton