balk

American  

[bawk] / bɔk /

Or baulk

verb (used without object)

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.

---

verb (used with object)

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

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

---

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

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

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

Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy’s annual shareholder letter made it clear that the company is fully committed to its artificial-intelligence initiatives, even as some investors balk at their steep cost.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026

But then came a balk that scored the winning run in El Camino Real’s 1-0 victory.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

But still, many residents balk at the sight of their pavement space being taken away.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026

Some companies balk at the cost of automation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

Why did Elizebeth balk at being assigned to the Navy?

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Related Words

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