balk
or baulk
to stop, as at an obstacle, and refuse to proceed or to do something specified (usually followed by at): He balked at making the speech.
(of a horse, mule, etc.) to stop short and stubbornly refuse to go on.
Baseball. to commit a balk.
to place an obstacle in the way of; hinder; thwart: a sudden reversal that balked her hopes.
Archaic. to let slip; fail to use: to balk an opportunity.
a check or hindrance; defeat; disappointment.
a strip of land left unplowed.
a crossbeam in the roof of a house that unites and supports the rafters; tie beam.
any heavy timber used for building purposes.
Baseball. an illegal motion by a pitcher while one or more runners are on base, as a pitch in which there is either an insufficient or too long a pause after the windup or stretch, a pretended throw to first or third base or to the batter with one foot on the pitcher's rubber, etc., resulting in a penalty advancing the runner or runners one base.
Billiards. any of the eight panels or compartments lying between the cushions of the table and the balklines.
Obsolete. a miss, slip, or failure: to make a balk.
Idioms about balk
in balk, inside any of the spaces in back of the balklines on a billiard table.
Origin of balk
1Other words for balk
Other words from balk
- balker, noun
- balk·ing·ly, adverb
- un·balked, adjective
- un·balk·ing, adjective
- un·balk·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use balk in a sentence
A Palestinian offical said the Israelis were balking at their conditions for talks, which include freezing settlements.
In at least 20 states, governors or legislatures are balking at setting up insurance cooperatives.
Red States Respond To Obamacare With Angry Tea-Party Denial | Joe McLean | March 20, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Democrats want to block those cuts for a year, and the Republicans are balking.
Even upper-income families are balking at paying $750,000 to $1 million for college.
Steve Cohen on the Three Biggest College Admissions Lies | Steve Cohen | September 26, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Taliban leadership also was balking at opening a political process that NATO quite rightly demands must be Afghan led.
Taliban Halts Talks With U.S., Puts NATO on Collision Course with Pakistan | Bruce Riedel | March 15, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
And indeed, when part way thru, this zeal came near balking me altogether.
Aw-Aw-Tam Indian Nights | J. William LloydBut he was used to obeying orders after a little balking, and in time his slow brain started him on the hunt for Davidge.
The Cup of Fury | Rupert HughesThere is a lady andwell,he was forever balking me and I hated him.
In Search of Mademoiselle | George GibbsThe canoe squirmed like a hunter balking a hedge, and Jean's blade splintered off to the handle.
Heralds of Empire | Agnes C. LautAnd no one has escaped the temporary balking of his thought by failure to find a suitable word to convey190 the intended meaning.
The Mind and Its Education | George Herbert Betts
British Dictionary definitions for balk
baulk
/ (bɔːk, bɔːlk) /
(intr usually foll by at) to stop short, esp suddenly or unexpectedly; jib: the horse balked at the jump
(intr foll by at) to turn away abruptly; recoil: he balked at the idea of murder
(tr) to thwart, check, disappoint, or foil: he was balked in his plans
(tr) to avoid deliberately: he balked the question
(tr) to miss unintentionally
a roughly squared heavy timber beam
a timber tie beam of a roof
an unploughed ridge to prevent soil erosion or mark a division on common land
an obstacle; hindrance; disappointment
baseball an illegal motion by a pitcher towards the plate or towards the base when there are runners on base, esp without delivering the ball
Origin of balk
1- See also baulk
Derived forms of balk
- balker or baulker, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse