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

Werner Herzog achieves a remarkable balancing act of unshakeable (and periodically shot-for-shot) fealty to the source material while complicating its themes and virtually every character. —Elle Carroll, Vulture, 24 Dec. 2024

In a new Instagram video shared on Dec. 19, the Serendipity star, 51, performed a balancing act while decorating her very festive (and very pink) Christmas tree. —Michelle Lee, People.com, 19 Dec. 2024

All of that makes memorializing a student without risking contagion a balancing act. —Max Kutner, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Dec. 2024

Finding the perfect gift while keeping your budget in check can feel like a delicate balancing act. —Rosie Marder, Travel + Leisure, 2 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined above