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

It is safe to assume that the president-elect is looking for the same thing in Bondi as he saw in Gaetz: a loyalist who won’t balk at ordering dubious investigations and also won’t appoint any meddlesome special counsels should the president himself be accused of wrongdoing.

From Salon

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

Like any other would-be autocrat, President-elect Donald Trump is selecting people for key positions overseeing the military and legal system based not on objective merits but their personal loyalty to one man: in this case, a 78-year-old Republican who felt betrayed in his first term when more-or-less qualified cabinet officials would balk at some of his more extreme demands.

From Salon

Adapted by Platte Clark, Darrin McDaniel and Ryan Swanson, Robinson’s book also was made into a 1983 TV movie starring Fairuza Balk, and Jenkins leans into 1970s and ’80s nostalgia, making his film a period piece.

From Los Angeles Times

Republicans’ promising to shrink the government to nothingness isn’t new, of course, and even if the party gains control of Congress, many would balk at axing popular programs.

From Slate

Related Words

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