Balk Definition
bôk
balked, balking, balks
verb
balked, balking, balks
To make balks in (land)
Webster's New World
To stop and obstinately refuse to move or act.
Webster's New World
To refuse obstinately or abruptly.
She balked at the very idea of compromise.
American Heritage
To obstruct or thwart; foil.
Webster's New World
To hesitate or recoil (at)
Webster's New World
noun
balks
A hindrance, check, or defeat.
American Heritage
A ridge of unplowed land between furrows.
Webster's New World
An incomplete or misleading motion, especially an illegal move made by a baseball pitcher.
American Heritage
A roughly hewn piece of timber.
Webster's New World
One of the spaces between the cushion and the balk line on a billiard table.
American Heritage
Origin of Balk
-
From Middle English balke, Old English balca, either from or influenced by Old Norse bálkr (“partition, ridge of land”), from Proto-Germanic *balkô. Cognate with German Balken (“balk”), Italian balcone (“balcony”).
From Wiktionary
Middle English balken to plow up in ridges from balk ridge from Old English balca and from Old Norse balkr beam
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
-
Probably from Dutch balken (“to bray, bawl”).
From Wiktionary
Find Similar Words
Find similar words to balk using the buttons below.