人被拉到同一條線上
被拉平的是人與人之間的差距：財力、背景、成績，在這件事面前暫時不算數。
noun · B2
Something that makes people equal, because it reaches everyone in the same way and takes no notice of who they are, what they own, or where they come from.
拉平差距的事物
核心畫面
Picture two things standing at different heights and one line drawn across them. An equalizer is whatever brings the low side up until both sit on that line. It can be a goal, a fact of life that nobody escapes, a slider that lifts one part of a sound, or a bar inside a machine. In every case the job finishes at the same moment: when the two sides are level.
可以想成兩樣東西本來一高一低，中間畫著一條水平線。equalizer 就是那個把低的一邊拉上來、讓兩邊落在同一條線上…更多收起
可以想成兩樣東西本來一高一低，中間畫著一條水平線。equalizer 就是那個把低的一邊拉上來、讓兩邊落在同一條線上的東西。它可以是一顆進球、一件誰都躲不掉的事、一根把某段聲音推上去的滑桿，或機器裡的一根桿子。共同點是：工作在「兩邊一樣高」的那一刻結束。From the word’s history
The word is built in three steps: equal, then equalize (to make equal), then -er (the one that does it). So an equalizer is simply the thing that makes things equal.
這個字分三層長出來：先是 equal（相等），再是 equalize（使相等），最後加 -er（做這件事的人或東西）。所以 equalizer 字面上就是「把東西弄成一樣的那個」。
Wiktionary etymology tree supplied in this evidence packet (kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4): "From equalize + -er (nominal suffix)."
Three branches
比數被拉到同一條線上
被拉平的是記分板上的兩個數字，而且只有讓它們相等的那一分才算。
noun · B2
A goal, run, or point that brings a team level with the other team again. LDOCE marks this as British English, and British writing usually spells it equaliser.
扳平的那一分
訊號與力量被拉到同一條線上
被拉平的不是人也不是分數，而是機器裡跑的東西：聲音的高低段、兩邊的拉力或電流。
noun · C1
A part in a machine whose job is to share a force, a pull, or an electric current evenly between two or more places, so that no side gets more than another — for example a bar that makes two brakes grip with the same strength.
均衡裝置、平衡桿