baulk
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baulk
(bôk)v. & n. Chiefly British
Variant of balk.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
baulk
(bɔːk; usually for sense 1 bɔːlk)n
1. (Billiards & Snooker) billiards
a. the space, usually 29 inches deep, between the baulk line and the bottom cushion
b. (in baulk-line games) one of the spaces between the cushions and the baulk lines
c. in baulk inside one of these spaces
2. (Archaeology) archaeol a strip of earth left between excavation trenches for the study of the complete stratigraphy of a site
3. (Croquet) 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
vb, n
a variant spelling of balk
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
balk
(bɔk)v.i.
1. to refuse curtly and firmly (usu. fol. by at).
2. to stop short and stubbornly refuse to go on.
3. to commit a balk in baseball.
v.t. 4. to place an obstacle in the way of; hinder; thwart.
n. 5. a baseball pitcher's illegal motion or feint, penalized by awarding a runner or runners an advance to the next base.
6. a check or hindrance; defeat; disappointment.
7. a strip of land left unplowed.
8. any heavy timber used for building purposes.
[before 900; Middle English; Old English balca covering, beam, ridge, c. Old Norse bǫlkr bar, partition]
balk′er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
baulk
Past participle: baulked
Gerund: baulking
| Imperative |
|---|
| baulk |
| baulk |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Noun | 1. |  baulk - the area on a billiard table behind the balkline; "a player with ball in hand must play from the balk"billiard table, pool table, snooker table - game equipment consisting of a heavy table on which pool is played surface area, expanse, area - the extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary; "the area of a rectangle"; "it was about 500 square feet in area" |
| 2. | baulk - something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress difficulty - a factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result; "serious difficulties were encountered in obtaining a pure reagent" albatross, millstone - (figurative) something that hinders or handicaps; "she was an albatross around his neck" 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; "taxation is a drag on the economy"; "too many laws are a drag on the use of new land" obstacle, obstruction - something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted; "lack of imagination is an obstacle to one's advancement"; "the poverty of a district is an obstacle to good education"; "the filibuster was a major obstruction to the success of their plan" straitjacket - anything immaterial that severely hinders or confines; "they defected because Russian dance was in a straitjacket"; "the government is operating in an economic straitjacket" | |
| 3. |  baulk - one of several parallel sloping beams that support a roofbeam - long thick piece of wood or metal or concrete, etc., used in construction | |
| Verb | 1. |  baulk - refuse to comply disobey - refuse to go along with; refuse to follow; be disobedient; "He disobeyed his supervisor and was fired" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
baulk
see balkCollins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002