Transcription
-
- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
-
- [bawk]
- /bɔk/
- /bɔːk/
-
- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [bawk]
- /bɔk/
Definitions of balk word
- verb balk If you balk at something, you definitely do not want to do it or to let it happen. 3
- verb balk to stop short, esp suddenly or unexpectedly; jib 3
- verb balk to turn away abruptly; recoil 3
- verb balk to thwart, check, disappoint, or foil 3
- verb balk to avoid deliberately 3
- verb balk to miss unintentionally 3
Information block about the term
Origin of balk
First appearance:
before 900 One of the 4% oldest English words
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, Slovene blazína, Lithuanian balžíenas beam. See balcony
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Balk
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
balk popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 91% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
balk usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for balk
verb balk
- hesitate — to be reluctant or wait to act because of fear, indecision, or disinclination: She hesitated to take the job.
- refuse — to decline to accept (something offered): to refuse an award.
- resist — to withstand, strive against, or oppose: to resist infection; to resist temptation.
- recoil — to draw back; start or shrink back, as in alarm, horror, or disgust.
- turn down — to cause to move around on an axis or about a center; rotate: to turn a wheel.
adjective balk
- underwhelm — to fail to interest or astonish: After all the ballyhoo, most critics were underwhelmed by the movie.
noun balk
- stringer — a person or thing that strings.
- two-by-four — two units thick and four units wide, especially in inches.
- lintel — a horizontal architectural member supporting the weight above an opening, as a window or a door.
- blow — When a wind or breeze blows, the air moves.
- cantilever — A cantilever is a long piece of metal or wood used in a structure such as a bridge. One end is fastened to something and the other end is used to support part of the structure.
Antonyms for balk
verb balk
- ok — all right; proceeding normally; satisfactory or under control: Things are OK at the moment.
- aid — Aid is money, equipment, or services that are provided for people, countries, or organizations who need them but cannot provide them for themselves.
- accept — If you accept something that you have been offered, you say yes to it or agree to take it.
- face — the front part of the head, from the forehead to the chin.
- meet — greatest lower bound
Top questions with balk
- what is a balk in baseball?
- what is a balk?
- what does balk mean?
- how old is fairuza balk?
- what is balk?
- what a balk call in baseball?
- what is balk in baseball?
- what is a balk baseball?
- in baseball what is a balk?
- what happened to fairuza balk?
- fairuza balk where is she now?
- what is a balk off?
- what is the definition of balk?
- what does the word balk mean?
- who is fairuza balk?