Library / English Dictionary

BALK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An illegal pitching motion while runners are on base

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("balk" is a kind of...):

delivery; pitch ((baseball) the act of throwing a baseball by a pitcher to a batter)

Derivation:

balky (stopping short and refusing to go on)

Sense 2

Meaning:

One of several parallel sloping beams that support a roof

Synonyms:

balk; baulk; rafter

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("balk" is a kind of...):

beam (long thick piece of wood or metal or concrete, etc., used in construction)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress

Synonyms:

balk; baulk; check; deterrent; handicap; hinderance; hindrance; impediment

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("balk" is a kind of...):

difficulty (a factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "balk"):

albatross; millstone ((figurative) something that hinders or handicaps)

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)

obstacle; obstruction (something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted)

straitjacket (anything immaterial that severely hinders or confines)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The area on a billiard table behind the balkline

Example:

a player with ball in hand must play from the balk

Synonyms:

balk; baulk

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("balk" is a kind of...):

area; expanse; surface area (the extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary)

Holonyms ("balk" is a part of...):

billiard table; pool table; snooker table (game equipment consisting of a heavy table on which pool is played)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Refuse to comply

Synonyms:

balk; baulk; jib; resist

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "balk" is one way to...):

disobey (refuse to go along with; refuse to follow; be disobedient)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

balker (a person who refuses to comply)

Credits