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

But Vrabel balancing those two things may prove challenging because, as NFL observers are noting, he's tried balancing acts in the past. —Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2026

The best seasons of Below Deck are a balancing act, juggling work and personal drama. —Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2026

Paying for her insulin and other supplies is a balancing act. —ABC News, 2 Apr. 2026

On Friday, the group released a documentary on Netflix, which chronicled the group’s balancing act during the making of Arirang as the band looked to honor its roots in Korea even as their audience has expanded to encompass the entire world. —Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 30 Mar. 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