balk

or baulk

[ bawk ]

/ bɔk /

verb (used without object)

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.

verb (used with object)

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.

noun

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.

QUIZZES

CAN YOU IDENTIFY LITERATURE’S FAMOUS OPENING LINES?

The opening line of any book should say, in the words of Stephen King, “Listen. Come in here. You want to know about this.” Right? So intriguing! But, alas, that is not how books begin. So, how well do you know the actual opening lines from some of literature's greatest novels? Correctly match these memorable openers with their works of fiction and consider yourself an excellent listener!

Question 1 of 13

“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms for balk

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

Origin of balk

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,Slovene blazína,Lithuanian balžíenas beam. See balcony

SYNONYMS FOR balk

4 check, retard, obstruct, impede, prevent.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR balk ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM balk

balker, nounbalk·ing·ly, adverbun·balked, adjectiveun·balk·ing, adjective

un·balk·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for balk

A Palestinian offical said the Israelis were balking at their conditions for talks, which include freezing settlements.
Kerry's Peace Push A Nothing-Burger?|Ali Gharib|May 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
The Democrats want to block those cuts for a year, and the Republicans are balking.
Obama Heckles Congress in Fiscal Cliff Speech|Howard Kurtz|December 31, 2012|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

The 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|DAILY BEAST
Wollaston was conscious of balking, although he would not retreat.
By the Light of the Soul|Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
It is entirely displaced by anger over the balking of the maternal instinct of protection.
Outwitting Our Nerves|Josephine A. Jackson and Helen M. Salisbury
Like many another staunch character, he takes gallantly the real troubles of life, balking only at the trifles.
The Worn Doorstep|Margaret Sherwood
There was a wheeze, a cough, a sigh and a groan, and the Tag started off as if she had never an idea of balking.
Tom Fairfield in Camp|Allen Chapman
On the other hand, he, Theydon, might be balking the course of justice by holding his tongue.
Number Seventeen|Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for balk

balk

baulk

/ (bɔːk, bɔːlk) /

verb

(intr usually foll by at) to stop short, esp suddenly or unexpectedly; jibthe horse balked at the jump

(intr foll by at) to turn away abruptly; recoilhe balked at the idea of murder

(tr) to thwart, check, disappoint, or foilhe was balked in his plans

(tr) to avoid deliberatelyhe balked the question

(tr) to miss unintentionally

noun

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

Derived forms of balk

balker or baulker, noun

Word Origin for balk

Old English balca; related to Old Norse bálkr partition, Old High German balco beam

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

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

balk

or baulk

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

noun

QUIZZES

CAN YOU IDENTIFY LITERATURE’S FAMOUS OPENING LINES?

Idioms for balk

Origin of balk

SYNONYMS FOR balk

OTHER WORDS FROM balk

Example sentences from the Web for balk

British Dictionary definitions for balk

baulk

verb

noun

Derived forms of balk

Word Origin for balk

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

balk

or baulk

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

noun

QUIZZES

CAN YOU IDENTIFY LITERATURE’S FAMOUS OPENING LINES?

Idioms for balk

Origin of balk

SYNONYMS FOR balk

OTHER WORDS FROM balk

Words related to balk

Example sentences from the Web for balk

British Dictionary definitions for balk

baulk

verb

noun

Derived forms of balk

Word Origin for balk