balk
/bɔk/noun, verb
balk is spelled B-A-L-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,703rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, balk means “An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of balk is balks.
How many letters and syllables are in balk?
| Letters | 4: B-A-L-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,703rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is balk?
Balk appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,703rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce balk?
- UK /bɔːk/
- UK /bɔːlk/
- US /bɔk/
Balk has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-balk.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with balk?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as balk from its last stressed vowel (/ɔk/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: blak.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of balk
- balks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- baulk
- balking participle, present
- balked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does balk mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing.
- 2
The wall of earth at the edge of an excavation.
- 3
Beam, crossbeam; squared timber; a tie beam of a house, stretching from wall to wall, especially when laid so as to form a loft, "the balks".
- 4
A hindrance or disappointment; a check.
, "Concealment of Sin" a balk to the confidence of the bold undertaker
- 5
A sudden and obstinate stop.
- 6
obsoleteAn omission.
- 7
An illegal motion by the pitcher, intended to deceive a runner.
- 8
A motion used to deceive the opponent during a serve.
- 9
UKA small brass ornament fixed at the top of a wand.
verb
- 1
To be unwilling to do something; to refuse to proceed or do or allow something, either in general or only temporarily.
balked at paying a day's wages for a pencil; he said he would buy her one, but when he saw the price, he balked
- 2
To stop short and refuse to go on or do something (such as jump).
The horse balked.
- 3
To move fitfully, stopping frequently.
- 4
To leave or make a balk or balks (ridges) in; to leave a ridge in by leaving partly unploughed.
- 5
To stop, check, block (by or as if by an obstacle); to hinder, impede, thwart.
[…] the sturdy cavalier was not to be balked in his purpose; […]
- 6
obsoleteTo leave heaped up; to heap up in piles.
- 7
obsoleteTo pass over or by (either by chance or intentionally); to avoid in passing.
- 8
obsoleteTo omit, miss, or overlook by chance, error, or inadvertance.
[…] you cannot baulk your Road without the hazard of drowning
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Balk in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | raie , balk, feinte irrégulière , regimber |
| German | Rain, Feldrain, Feldrand, Furchenrücken , verweigern , Balken |
| Spanish | finta , viga , obstáculo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does balk come from?
From Middle English balke, from Old English balca, either from or influenced by Old Norse bálkr (“partition, ridge of land”), from Proto-Germanic *balkô. Cognate with Dutch balk (“balk”), German Balken (“balk”), Italian balcone (“balcony”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).