balk
or baulk
[ bawk ]
/ bɔk /
verb (used without object)
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
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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
OTHER WORDS FROM balk
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
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British Dictionary definitions for balk
balk
baulk
/ (bɔːk, bɔːlk) /
verb
noun
See also baulk
Derived forms of balk
balker or baulker, nounWord 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
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