poise
To hold in equilibrium, to hold balanced and readyTo hold (something) in equilibrium, to hold balanced and ready; to carry (something) ready to be used.
Recorded UK: Speaker: Vealhurl Recorder: Vealhurl, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
» Tom has a lot of poise.
Том очень уравновешенный человек. — marafon
Том дуже врівноважений. — deniko
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
8 sensesTo hold (something) in equilibrium, to hold balanced and ready; to carry (something) ready to be used.
I poised the crowbar in my hand, and waited.
to poise the scales of a balance
изготавливатьсяizgotavlivatʹsja
To keep (something) in equilibrium; to hold suspended or balanced.
The rock was poised precariously on the edge of the cliff.
To ascertain, as if by balancing; to weigh.
(obsolete)To hang in equilibrium; to be balanced or suspended; hence, to be in suspense or doubt.
cause to be balanced or suspended
(obsolete)To counterpoise; to counterbalance.
1699, John Dryden, Epistle to John Dryden to poise with solid sense a sprightly wit
(obsolete)To be of a given weight; to weigh.
(obsolete)To add weight to, to weigh down.
(archaic)To hold (something) with or against something else in equilibrium; to balance, counterpose.
hold or carry in equilibrium
Examples
20 sentencesTom has a lot of poise.
Том дуже врівноважений. — deniko
ruТом очень уравновешенный человек. — marafon
He has a lot of poise.
ruОн очень уравновешен. — Wezel
deEr ist äußerst selbstbewusst. — Yorwba
He seems poised to do something horrible.
Algeria's tourism industry is poised to prosper.
Algeria is poised for a geopolitical comeback.
Translations
1 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English poys, poyse, from Anglo-Norman pois, Middle French pois (“weight”) andFrom Middle English poys, poyse, from Anglo-Norman pois, Middle French pois (“weight”) and Anglo-Norman poise, Middle French poise (“measure of weight”), from Latin pendere (“to weigh, ponder, think”). Doublet of peise.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
poises, poising, poised, poisedSynonyms
2 synonymsWord family
6 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.