poise

views updated

poise1 / poiz/ • n. 1. graceful and elegant bearing in a person: poise and good deportment can be cultivated. ∎  composure and dignity of manner: at least he had a moment to think, to recover his poise.2. archaic balance; equilibrium.• v. be or cause to be balanced or suspended: [intr.] he poised motionless on his toes | [tr.] fig. the world was poised between peace and war. ∎  (be poised) (of a person or organization) be ready to do something: teachers are poised to resume their attack on government school tests. poise2 • n. Physics a unit of dynamic viscosity, such that a tangential force of one dyne per square centimeter causes a velocity change of one centimeter per second between two parallel planes separated by one centimeter in a liquid.