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| balk [ bawk ] or baulk [ bawk ] |
verb (past and past participle balked, present participle balk·ing, 3rd person present singular balks) (past and past participle baulked, present participle baulk·ing, 3rd person present singular baulks) |
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| Definition: |
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1. intransitive verb be reluctant or turn away: to hesitate over something or be unwilling to do something, usually because of moral scruples or a natural aversion
  I balked at getting down on my hands and knees to wipe the floor.
They balked at the asking price.
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2. transitive and intransitive verb refuse to deal with something: to refuse to deal with something that presents a difficulty
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3. intransitive verb stop short: to stop suddenly and refuse to go on, especially when faced with an obstacle
The horse balked and refused the jump.
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4. transitive verb foil somebody: to prevent somebody from carrying out a plan or intention
(
often passive
)
acted like a lion balked of its prey
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5. intransitive verb baseball make illegal pitching motion: in baseball, to make an illegal motion by pretending to pitch but not actually throwing the ball
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noun (plural balks) (plural baulks) |
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| Definition: |
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1. obstacle: something that hinders or frustrates
a balk to further progress in the peace negotiations
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2. baseball illegal pitching move: in baseball, an illegal motion in which the pitcher pretends to throw the ball toward the plate or to a base but does not release it
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3. construction large piece of wood: a large squared wooden beam
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4. architecture wooden beam in house roof: a wooden tie beam in the roof of a house
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5. agriculture unplowed ridge: a ridge of land left unplowed to serve as a boundary or to counter erosion
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6. cue games area behind balkline: the area between the balkline and the bottom cushion on a billiard table, or in balkline billiards between any balkline and the cushion
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| [< Old English balca "ridge" and Old Norse bálkr "beam, bar" < Indo-European, "beam"] |
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| balk·er noun |
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