baulk
[bawk]
/bɔk/
verb (used without object), verb (used with object), noun
1.
balk
.
British Dictionary definitions for
baulk
balk
/
bɔːk;
bɔːlk
/
verb
1.
(
intransitive
)
usually foll by
at.
to stop short, esp suddenly or unexpectedly; jib:
the horse balked at the jump
2.
(
intransitive
)
foll by
at.
to turn away abruptly; recoil:
he balked at the idea of murder
3.
(
transitive
) to thwart, check, disappoint, or foil:
he was balked in his plans
4.
(
transitive
) to avoid deliberately:
he balked the question
5.
(
transitive
) to miss unintentionally
noun
6.
a roughly squared heavy timber beam
7.
a timber tie beam of a roof
8.
an unploughed ridge to prevent soil erosion or mark a division on common land
9.
an obstacle; hindrance; disappointment
10.
(
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
See also
baulk
Derived Forms
balker,
baulker,
noun
Word Origin
Old English
balca
; related to Old Norse
bálkr
partition, Old High German
balco
beam
baulk
/
bɔːk;
usually for sense 1
bɔːlk
/
noun
1.
(
billiards
)
Also (US)
balk
the space, usually 29 inches deep, between the baulk line and the bottom cushion
(in baulk-line games) one of the spaces between the cushions and the baulk lines
in baulk,
inside one of these spaces
2.
(
archaeol
) a strip of earth left between excavation trenches for the study of the complete stratigraphy of a site
3.
(
croquet
) either of two lines (
A baulk
and
B baulk
) at diagonally opposite ends of the court, from which the ball is struck into play
verb, noun
4.
a variant spelling of
balk
Word Origin and History for
baulk
alternative spelling of
balk
, especially in billiards, in reference to a bad shot.