lose balance
Start to topple
To lose balance is to become unsteady and begin to fall or tip over.
The phrase applies literally to physical stability—She lost her balance on the icy sidewalk—and figuratively to mental or emotional equilibrium: The criticism made him lose his balance for a moment.
One can also lose balance in an abstract sense, as when life becomes disproportionately weighted toward work or worry.
- stumbleLose footing momentarily
- wobbleUnsteady side-to-side motion
- toppleCause to fall
- totterMove unsteadily, nearly falling
- swayRock back and forth
fall · fall over · trip · slip · black ice · dizzy · vertigo · inner ear · head rush · unsteady · teeter · lurch · stagger · sea legs · falter · tumble · keel · reel
- clumsinessclumsiness, clumsy, awkwardness, fumble, stumble
- downward motionsfall, drop, descend, plunge, sink
- Unsteady Motionshake, vibrate, vibration, tremor, oscillating
physical stability
lose balancestand firm
Refuse to retreat
hold steady · stabilize · stay grounded · balance · stand one's ground
lose, balance, loses, losing, lost, loser, losers, loss, losses