Meaning & use
balk
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To suddenly refuse to do or accept something, usually because it seems too difficult, expensive or frightening.
Grammar: No direct object; usually followed by at: balk at the price.
Patterns
- balk at something
- balk at doing something
Many customers balk at the high cost of repairs.
He balked at signing the contract without reading it first.
The horse balked at the narrow bridge and would not cross.
verbtransitiveold-fashioned
To prevent someone from achieving something or to block their plan.
Grammar: Takes an object and is old-fashioned: balk someone's plans.
Patterns
- balk someone
- balk someone's plans
Heavy rain balked our attempt to climb the hill.
The senator's speech balked the vote for another week.
nouncountablesportAmerican
In baseball, an illegal move by the pitcher that lets runners advance one base.
Grammar: Sport sense; often a call by the umpire: the umpire called a balk.
Patterns
- call a balk
- commit a balk
The umpire called a balk, and the runner moved to second base.
The pitcher's balk gave the other team a free advance.
Word forms
| third person singular | balks |
|---|---|
| past tense | balked |
| past participle | balked |
| -ing form | balking |
Common combinations
- balk at the idea
- Many people balk at the idea of moving abroad.
- balk at the cost
- Buyers balked at the cost of the upgrade.
- balk at the thought
- I balk at the thought of speaking in front of a crowd.
- balk at the price
- They balked at the price and went elsewhere.
- balk at paying
- He balked at paying so much for parking.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hesitate
- Hesitate means to pause before acting and may still go ahead, while balk suggests an actual refusal or sudden stop.
- recoil
- Recoil is a physical or emotional pulling back in reaction to something unpleasant, while balk is more about refusing to proceed.
- shy away
- Shy away suggests avoiding something out of nerves, whereas balk happens at the moment of facing it.
- demur
- Demur is formal and means to raise polite objections, which is milder than balk.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: balk or baulk? balk or bulk?
balk vs baulk
Baulk is the usual British spelling of balk; the meaning is the same.
balk vs bulk
Bulk means large size or quantity, with no relation to refusing.
Practice
Many shoppers ______ at the price of the new phone and bought the older model instead.
Choose one answer.
Balk at means to refuse or hesitate because of something, here the price. Bulked and baked do not take at in this sense, and backed would need a different pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “balk”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.