off balance
Idioms-
Out of equilibrium, unsteady, as in When learning how to ride a two-wheeler, it's easy to get off balance and fall , or She stood up and threw the canoe off balance . [Mid-1900s]
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Surprised, unprepared, as in The teacher gives unannounced tests to keep the class off balance . [Second half of 1900s]
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.
Styles sings of relationships that are constantly off balance.
From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026
On “The Bear,” his last guest star role, Albert Schnur knocks our trust off balance by swooping into Ebra’s life, expecting to find disorganization, and enthusiastically respecting that Ebra has his act together.
From Salon • Dec. 21, 2025
He repeatedly and smartly got Pasadena players off balance and fouling with pump fakes.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2025
But it’s five-foot-10, 228-pound Taylor who’s stirring the whole pot, keeping defenses off balance, opening up the passing game, and making Indianapolis a credible threat.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 10, 2025
All the same, his coming up like that asking for a private talk was pretty embarrassing and threw me off balance.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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.
