on balance

Idioms  

1. Taking everything into consideration, as in On balance I think we've had a very good year. This expression, which in effect means “balancing all the factors involved,” was first recorded in 1719.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

on balance

That shift is positive on balance: Students gain access to an intellectual breadth once available only at elite institutions, while universities are pushed toward the harder task of cultivating judgment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

And cards with a 0% introductory rate usually claim that rate is also available on balance transfers, but that’s a bit of a shell game.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

That showed that “consumers, on balance, did not punish firms for maintaining DEI.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

But false positives were common, and whether getting a full-body scan stands to, on balance, increase your lifespan is unknown.

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026

To begin with, there are the demands on balance, coordination, and reflex.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand