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

Maintaining a healthy and diverse lawn is a balancing act. —Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 7 Mar. 2026

Peterson's days are a balancing act between the lab and her skis. —Emily Chen-Newton, NPR, 4 Mar. 2026

Companies often want drug-like rigor without crossing into drug regulation, and that balancing act requires careful language and design many nutraceutical sponsors haven’t anticipated. —Elise Felicione, STAT, 26 Feb. 2026

Bloomberg | Getty Images China's central bank kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged Tuesday as authorities navigate a balancing act of supporting a slowing economy while maintaining currency stability. —Anniek Bao, CNBC, 24 Feb. 2026

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