balk
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balk
(bôk)v. balked, balk·ing, balks
v.intr.
1. To stop short and refuse to go on: The horse balked at the jump.
2. To refuse obstinately or abruptly: She balked at the very idea of compromise.
3.
a. Sports To make an incomplete or misleading motion.
b. Baseball To make an illegal motion before pitching, allowing one or more base runners to advance one base.
v.tr.
1. To check or thwart by or as if by an obstacle.
2. Archaic To let go by; miss.
n.
1. A hindrance, check, or defeat.
2. Sports An incomplete or misleading motion, especially an illegal move made by a baseball pitcher.
3. Games One of the spaces between the cushion and the balk line on a billiard table.
4.
a. An unplowed strip of land.
b. A ridge between furrows.
5. A wooden beam or rafter.
[Middle English balken, to plow up in ridges, from balk, ridge, from Old English balca and from Old Norse balkr, beam.]
balk′er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
balk
(bɔːk; bɔːlk) orbaulk
vb
1. (usually foll by: at) to stop short, esp suddenly or unexpectedly; jib: the horse balked at the jump.
2. (foll by: at) 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
n
6. (Architecture) a roughly squared heavy timber beam
7. (Architecture) a timber tie beam of a roof
8. (Agriculture) an unploughed ridge to prevent soil erosion or mark a division on common land
9. an obstacle; hindrance; disappointment
10. (Baseball) 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
[Old English balca; related to Old Norse bálkr partition, Old High German balco beam]
ˈbalker, ˈbaulker n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
balk
(bɔk)v.i.
1. to refuse curtly and firmly (usu. fol. by at).
2. to stop short and stubbornly refuse to go on.
3. to commit a balk in baseball.
v.t. 4. to place an obstacle in the way of; hinder; thwart.
n. 5. a baseball pitcher's illegal motion or feint, penalized by awarding a runner or runners an advance to the next base.
6. a check or hindrance; defeat; disappointment.
7. a strip of land left unplowed.
8. any heavy timber used for building purposes.
[before 900; Middle English; Old English balca covering, beam, ridge, c. Old Norse bǫlkr bar, partition]
balk′er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Balk
a ridge or heap on the ground. See also bank, bar.Examples: balk of earth; of good ground, 1605; of money, 1652; of sand, 1538.
Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
balk
Past participle: balked
Gerund: balking
Imperative |
---|
balk |
balk |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
balk
1. A strip of ground left unexcavated between two trenches dug at an archaelogical site.
2. An illegal act by the pitcher while one or more runners are on base. Any runner may then walk on to the next base.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Noun | 1. | balk - the area on a billiard table behind the balkline; "a player with ball in hand must play from the balk" billiard table, pool table, snooker table - game equipment consisting of a heavy table on which pool is played surface area, expanse, area - the extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary; "the area of a rectangle"; "it was about 500 square feet in area" |
2. | balk - something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress difficulty - a factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result; "serious difficulties were encountered in obtaining a pure reagent" albatross, millstone - (figurative) something that hinders or handicaps; "she was an albatross around his neck" bind - something that hinders as if with bonds diriment impediment - (canon law) an impediment that invalidates a marriage (such as the existence of a prior marriage) drag - something that slows or delays progress; "taxation is a drag on the economy"; "too many laws are a drag on the use of new land" obstacle, obstruction - something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted; "lack of imagination is an obstacle to one's advancement"; "the poverty of a district is an obstacle to good education"; "the filibuster was a major obstruction to the success of their plan" straitjacket - anything immaterial that severely hinders or confines; "they defected because Russian dance was in a straitjacket"; "the government is operating in an economic straitjacket" | |
3. | balk - one of several parallel sloping beams that support a roof beam - long thick piece of wood or metal or concrete, etc., used in construction | |
4. | balk - an illegal pitching motion while runners are on base | |
Verb | 1. | balk - refuse to comply disobey - refuse to go along with; refuse to follow; be disobedient; "He disobeyed his supervisor and was fired" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
balk
baulkverb (often with at) recoil, resist, hesitate, dodge, falter, evade, shy away, flinch, quail, shirk, shrink, draw back, jib Even biology graduates may balk at animal experiments.
recoil accept, yield, submit, comply, relent, accede, acquiesce
recoil accept, yield, submit, comply, relent, accede, acquiesce
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
balk
verbnoun
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
balk
[bɔːk]B. VT (= thwart) → impedir; (= miss) → perder, no aprovechar
we were balked of the chance to see it → perdimos la oportunidad de verlo
we were balked of the chance to see it → perdimos la oportunidad de verlo
C. VI to balk (at) [horse] → plantarse (ante) (fig) [person] some students balk at carrying out animal experiments → algunos estudiantes se muestran reacios or se resisten a llevar a cabo experimentos con animales
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
balk
[ˈbɔːk] viCollins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
balk
, baulkCollins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
balk
baulk [bɔːk] vi to balk (at the idea of) (person) → recalcitrare (all'idea di), tirarsi indietro (davanti a); (horse) → recalcitrare or impennarsi (di fronte a)Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995