BALK

balk

(noun) an illegal pitching motion while runners are on base

rafter, balk, baulk

(noun) one of several parallel sloping beams that support a roof

hindrance, hinderance, deterrent, impediment, balk, baulk, handicap

(noun) something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress

balk, baulk

(noun) the area on a billiard table behind the balkline; “a player with ball in hand must play from the balk”

resist, balk, baulk, jib

(verb) refuse to comply

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Proper noun

Balk (plural Balks)

A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Balk is the 9991^st most common surname in the United States, belonging to 3228 individuals. Balk is most common among White (66.64%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (28.78%) individuals.

Anagrams

• Blak, blak

Etymology 1

Noun

balk (plural balks)

An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing.

(archaeology) The wall of earth at the edge of an excavation.

Beam, crossbeam; squared timber; a tie beam of a house, stretching from wall to wall, especially when laid so as to form a loft, "the balks".

A hindrance or disappointment; a check.

A sudden and obstinate stop; a failure.

(obsolete) An omission.

(sports) A deceptive motion; a feint.

(baseball) An illegal motion by the pitcher, intended to deceive a runner.

(badminton) A motion used to deceive the opponent during a serve.

(billiards) The area of the table lying behind the line from which the cue ball is initially shot, and from which a ball in hand must be played.

(snooker) The area of the table lying behind the baulk line.

(fishing) The rope by which fishing nets are fastened together.

Verb

balk (third-person singular simple present balks, present participle balking, simple past and past participle balked)

(archaic) To pass over or by.

To omit, miss, or overlook by chance.

Synonyms: miss, overlook

(obsolete) To miss intentionally; to avoid.

Synonyms: avoid, shun, refuse, shirk

To stop, check, block.

To stop short and refuse to go on.

To refuse suddenly.

To disappoint; to frustrate.

Synonyms: frustrate, foil, baffle, thwart

To engage in contradiction; to be in opposition.

To leave or make balks in.

To leave heaped up; to heap up in piles.

Etymology 2

Verb

balk (third-person singular simple present balks, present participle balking, simple past and past participle balked)

To indicate to fishermen, by shouts or signals from shore, the direction taken by the shoals of herring.

Anagrams

• Blak, blak

Source: Wiktionary

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Balk, n. Etym: [AS. balca beam, ridge; akin to Icel. balkr partition, bjalki beam, OS. balko, G. balken; cf. Gael. balc ridge of earth between two furrows. Cf. Balcony, Balk, v. i., 3d Bulk.]

1. A ridge of land left unplowed between furrows, or at the end of a field; a piece missed by the plow slipping aside. Bad plowmen made balks of such ground. Fuller.

2. A great beam, rafter, or timber; esp., the tie-beam of a house. The loft above was called "the balks." Tubs hanging in the balks. Chaucer.

3. (Mil.)

Definition: One of the beams connecting the successive supports of a trestle bridge or bateau bridge.

4. A hindrance or disappointment; a check. A balk to the confidence of the bold undertaker. South.

5. A sudden and obstinate stop; a failure.

6. (Baseball)

Definition: A deceptive gesture of the pitcher, as if to deliver the ball. Balk line (Billiards), a line across a billiard table near one end, marking a limit within which the cue balls are placed in beginning a game; also, a line around the table, parallel to the sides, used in playing a particular game, called the balk line game.

Balk, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Balked (p. pr. & vb. n. Balking.] Etym: [From Balk a beam; orig. to put a balk or beam in one's way, in order to stop or hinder. Cf., for sense 2, AS. on balcan legan to lay in heaps.]

1. To leave or make balks in. [Obs.] Gower.

2. To leave heaped up; to heap up in piles. [Obs.] Ten thousand bold Scots, two and twenty knights, Balk'd in their own blood did Sir Walter see. Shak.

3. To omit, miss, or overlook by chance. [Obs.]

4. To miss intentionally; to avoid; to shun; to refuse; to let go by; to shirk. [Obs. or Obsolescent] By reason of the contagion then in London, we balked the Evelyn. Sick he is, and keeps his bed, and balks his meat. Bp. Hall. Nor doth he any creature balk, But lays on all he meeteth. Drayton.

5. To disappoint; to frustrate; to foil; to baffle; to as, to balk expectation. They shall not balk my entrance. Byron.

Balk, v. i.

1. To engage in contradiction; to be in opposition. [Obs.] In strifeful terms with him to balk. Spenser.

2. To stop abruptly and stand still obstinately; to jib; to stop short; to swerve; as, the horse balks.

Note: This has been regarded as an Americanism, but it occurs in Spenser's "Faërie Queene," Book IV., 10, xxv. Ne ever ought but of their true loves talkt, Ne ever for rebuke or blame of any balkt.

Balk, v. i. Etym: [Prob. from D. balken to bray, bawl.]

Definition: To indicate to fishermen, by shouts or signals from shore, the direction taken by the shoals of herring.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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