balk

American  

[bawk] / bɔk /

Or baulk

verb (used without object)

balks, present (3rd person singular) balked, past participle, past balking present participle

1. to stop, as at an obstacle, and refuse to proceed or to do something specified (usually followed byat ).

   He balked at making the speech.

2. (of a horse, mule, etc.) to stop short and stubbornly refuse to go on.

3. Baseball. to commit a balk.

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verb (used with object)

balks, present (3rd person singular) balked, past participle, past balking present participle

1. to place an obstacle in the way of; hinder; thwart.

   a sudden reversal that balked her hopes.

   Synonyms:

   prevent, impede, obstruct, retard, check

2. Archaic. to let slip; fail to use.

   to balk an opportunity.

noun

balks plural

1. a check or hindrance; defeat; disappointment.

2. a strip of land left unplowed.

3. a crossbeam in the roof of a house that unites and supports the rafters; tie beam.

4. any heavy timber used for building purposes.

5. 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.

6. Billiards. any of the eight panels or compartments lying between the cushions of the table and the balklines.

7. Obsolete. a miss, slip, or failure.

   to make a balk.

idioms

1. in balk, inside any of the spaces in back of the balklines on a billiard table.

balk British  

/ bɔːk, bɔːlk /

verb

1. to stop short, esp suddenly or unexpectedly; jib

   the horse balked at the jump

2. to turn away abruptly; recoil

   he balked at the idea of murder

3. (tr) to thwart, check, disappoint, or foil

   he was balked in his plans

4. (tr) to avoid deliberately

   he balked the question

5. (tr) to miss unintentionally

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noun

1. a roughly squared heavy timber beam

2. a timber tie beam of a roof

3. an unploughed ridge to prevent soil erosion or mark a division on common land

4. an obstacle; hindrance; disappointment

5. 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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• balker
  noun
• unbalked
  adjective
• unbalking
  adjective
• balkingly
  adverb
• unbalkingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• balks
  plural

Participles

• balking
  present
• balked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• balk
  simple
• balks
  simple
• have balked
  perfect
• has balked
  perfect
• am balking
  progressive
• are balking
  progressive
• is balking
  progressive
• have been balking
  perfect progressive
• has been balking
  perfect progressive

Past

• balked
  simple
• had balked
  perfect
• was balking
  progressive
• were balking
  progressive
• had been balking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will balk
  simple
• will have balked
  perfect
• will be balking
  progressive
• will have been balking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of balk

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English balca “covering, beam, ridge”; cognate with Old Norse bǫlkr “bar, partition,” Dutch balk, Old Saxon balko, German Balken, Old Norse bjalki “beam,” Old English bolca “plank”; perhaps akin to Latin sufflāmen, Slovenian blazína, Lithuanian balžíenas “beam.” See balcony

Explanation

If you balk at your mother's suggestion that you take on more responsibility, you're saying no to added chores. To balk means to refuse to go along with. A donkey balks when it refuses to move forward. This is a good picture for balk which is often used in conjunction with demands. Demands are something people often balk at like a donkey refusing to move. In baseball, a pitcher balks when he or she begins a pitch by winding up, but does not complete it. It is as if he is refusing to complete a started pitch, and it is against the rules.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

balk balks balked balking

A balk by Edgardo Henriquez followed by a wild pitch allowed Carroll to score.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

If that happens it would once again restrict the flow of oil, given many Western shippers may balk at paying.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

When Hank answers the door in a ski mask, Aaron doesn’t balk.

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026

A $500 million government bailout falters as the discount carrier runs low on cash and bondholders balk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

I balk at the irony of the name.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

Leon Capital Group’s founder talks about his investments in unglamorous businesses, career-defining bets during the financial crisis, and why he still sometimes balks at his dry-cleaning bill.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026

But, Bessent warned, if Beijing balks, the United States has "lots of levers" to retaliate.

From Barron's ● Nov. 16, 2025

When Butters balks at the price, the store owner explains that the cost of tariffs is passed onto the customer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2025

Then Ellie balks, making Joel turn to her to say again, “I promise,” with the same expression he wore when he lied about Salt Lake.

From Salon ● May 19, 2025

His memory was a catalogue of vital notes on horses and men: hangs in the stretch, balks in close quarters, only hits right-handed.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

But even after the studio won a bidding war for the story, it balked at coughing up the money for a movie worthy of Madonna’s legacy.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026

As the two discussed Mexico’s probability of advancing in the knockout stages of World Cup, Hernández balked back with his now famous phrase: “Imaginémonos cosas chingonas!”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

But the arrangement crumbled when the ownership of the franchise changed hands in 2024, and the new owners balked at recognizing Mansell’s claim on its inventory.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Most mega-producers likely would have balked at my less-than-robust résumé, but Ryan is someone who moves instinctively and decisively, and after our meeting, he offered me the chance to write the show.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026

I tried to think of whom among the district committee I might call for information concerning Clifton, but here again I was balked.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

Rather, the impasse is due to risk-averse utility customers balking at the outsize capital commitments and poor returns associated with green-field nuclear construction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

Companies tried to pass along their own price increases to customers, but customers were balking.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026

Demand is strong and consumers aren’t balking at higher fares, plus it’s cutting capacity to mitigate the impact of higher fuel prices.

From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026

Customers were balking after a string of price increases.

From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2026

The company that had issued the bigger policy was balking at paying off.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Related Words

• flinch
• hesitate
• recoil
• refuse
• resist
• turn down