balk

or baulk

[ bawk ]

verb (used without object)

1. 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.

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.

balk

/ bɔːk; bɔːlk /

verb

1. intrusually foll byat to stop short, esp suddenly or unexpectedly; jib

   the horse balked at the jump

2. intrfoll byat 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

Derived Forms

• ˈbalker, noun

Other Words From

• balker noun
• balking·ly adverb
• un·balked adjective
• un·balking adjective
• un·balking·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of balk¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of balk¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

Example Sentences

But some Republican senators, who will hold a 53-vote majority, may balk at another Kennedy stance: his support for abortion rights, which antiabortion groups were already highlighting yesterday.

From Science Magazine

Pasadena recently approved a contract with LA28, joining Inglewood, Long Beach and other neighboring cities where venues will be located, but Santa Monica City Council members have balked at hosting beach volleyball.

From Los Angeles Times

He brought up the vice president's visit to "The View," in which she balked at offering any differences between herself and Biden.

From Salon

On a September visit to Indiana, she originally balked at an unworkable practice schedule her team was given before realizing she hadn’t converted the time.

From Los Angeles Times

So Shipley is not going to balk – especially after telling disgruntled editorial staffers that he “owned” the decision on Friday, according to NPR.

From Salon

Related Words

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