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
Even so, at least one juror apparently balked at convicting a man for violating wildlife protection laws by protecting wildlife.
If I balked at an act or found it difficult to perform, I was “punished” for my defiance (which is the nature of a BDSM scene).
My ‘Kink’ Nightmare: James Franco’s BDSM Porn Documentary ‘Kink’ Only Tells Part of the Story | Aurora Snow | August 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTGerawan consented, but after a few months at the table, UFW balked again.
When Hayes balked at giving up her child, she claims Romney threatened she could be excommunicated if she refused.
Why Is the Mormon Church Getting Out of the Adoption Business? | Kathryn Joyce | June 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe initially balked, but they insisted and he was soon at Metropolitan Hospital.
My Building Exploded. I Survived: Harlem Miracle Man Tells His Story | Michael Daly | March 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He seemed to intimate that he understood all that was passing in her mind, and was not balked by sprightly appearances.
The Daughters of Danaus | Mona CairdThis was effected, and Louis Philippe was balked of his desire to interfere in Portugal to promote a reactionary policy.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. | E. Farr and E. H. NolanShe had come suddenly upon the stone wall which had balked all her efforts.
The Secret Witness | George GibbsAnd so Marishka, once more balked in her enterprise, went back to the Harim.
The Secret Witness | George GibbsCursing furiously, Wade drove him at it again, and again the gelding balked.
Hidden Gold | Wilder Anthony
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
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