to stop, as at an obstacle, and refuse to proceed or to do something specified (usually fol. by at )

He balked at making the speech.

(of a horse, mule, etc.) to stop short and stubbornly refuse to go on.

Baseball . to commit a balk.

to place an obstacle in the way of; hinder; thwart

a sudden reversal that balked her hopes.

Archaic . to let slip; fail to use

to balk an opportunity.

a check or hindrance; defeat; disappointment.

a strip of land left unplowed.

a crossbeam in the roof of a house that unites and supports the rafters; tie beam.

any heavy timber used for building purposes.

Baseball . an illegal motion by a pitcher while one or more runners are on base, as a pitch in which there is either an insufficient or too long a pause after the windup or stretch, a pretended throw to first or third base or to the batter with one foot on the pitcher's rubber, etc., resulting in a penalty advancing the runner or runners one base.

Billiards . any of the eight panels or compartments lying between the cushions of the table and the balklines.

Obsolete . a miss, slip, or failure

to make a balk.

in balk

inside any of the spaces in back of the balklines on a billiard table.

verb

aid , help , make easier

verb

cramp , crimp , demur , desist , dodge , evade , flinch , hesitate , recoil , refuse , resist , shirk , shrink from , shy , turn down , upset apple cart , baffle , bar , beat , check , circumvent , counteract , cramp one’s style , dash , defeat , disappoint , disconcert , foil , forestall , frustrate , hinder , obstruct , prevent , ruin , stall , stop , throw a curve , throw monkey wrench in , upset the apple cart , checkmate , stymie , thwart , beam , bilk , block , delay , discomfit , falter , hunch , impede , inhibit , jib , loft , outwit , quibble , stumble , waver

noun

rafter , timber