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.
Chronic stress is widely known to throw digestion off balance, leading to symptoms like diarrhea or constipation.
From Science Daily • May 1, 2026
The 41-year-old's arm got stuck in a gate just 13 seconds into her run on Sunday at Olimpia delle Tofane in Cortina, throwing her off balance.
From BBC • Feb. 9, 2026
He repeatedly and smartly got Pasadena players off balance and fouling with pump fakes.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2025
Formally and dramatically, the movie has poise, which only strengthens its depiction of girls thrown off balance by growing up.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025
Bacchus swung his staff through the air, though his potbelly almost threw him off balance.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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.
