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v. poised, pois·ing, pois·es v.tr. 1. To carry or hold in equilibrium; balance: I poised the pencil on the edge of the table. 2. To cause to be ready or about to do something: She is poised to win the nomination. v.intr. To be balanced or held in suspension: She poised at the end of the diving board. n. 1. Confident composure; self-possession: answered the reporters' questions with poise. 2. Bearing of the body, especially when graceful: a ballerina's poise. [Middle English poisen, to balance, weigh, from Old French peser, pois-, from Vulgar Latin *pēsāre, from Latin pēnsāre; see (s)pen- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
n. A centimeter-gram-second unit of dynamic viscosity equal to one dyne-second per square centimeter. [French, after Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille (1799-1869), French physician and physiologist.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
