balancing act

noun

plural balancing acts

: an attempt to handle or deal with two or more things (such as obligations) at one time so as to satisfy often competing requirements

"It's a difficult balancing act between celebrating the past and making room for the future."

—Jeffrey Brown

Vegas might be the starkest example of what the hospitality industry faces across the country: a delicate balancing act between bringing back jobs and revenue and keeping workers and customers safe from a virus that's killed more than 100,000 Americans.

—Dave Jamieson

It's a balancing act between appreciation, education and safety. Earlier this year, London city council voted to tighten up a parks bylaw that restricts the amount of food residents can feed to wild animals.

—Megan Stacey

Examples of balancing act in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

How To Balance Growth And Technical Debt Keeping technical debt at bay while investing in the payment technologies needed to support growth and expansion is a balancing act for any enterprise. —Henry Helgeson, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025

The viability and impact of deepfakes in reputational attacks can be a balancing act. —Jim Richberg, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025

As middlemen, these companies are required to perform a balancing act of protecting guests while still having their hosts’ backs. —Seth Kugel, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025

Remember that life is a balancing act, and prepare accordingly. —Matt Fuchs, TIME, 7 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for balancing act

• overreact
• abstract
• attacked
• attract
• contact
• contract
• detract
• distract
• enact
• exact
• extract
• hijacked