balking
noun, adjective, verb
balking is spelled B-A-L-K-I-N-G: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 111,684th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, balking means “A frustration or disappointment; a check” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of balking is balkings.
How many letters and syllables are in balking?
| Letters | 7: B-A-L-K-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 14 million words; the 111,684th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is balking?
Balking appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 111,684th 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 balking?
Balking has 2 syllables (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).
Forms of balking
- balkings plural
- baulking
- more balking comparative
- most balking superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does balking mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A frustration or disappointment; a check.
adjective
- 1
Tending to thwart or impede; frustrating.
- 2
Causing one to pause or stop; disheartening.
- 3
That refuses to cooperate or fails to behave in the desired and expected manner.
- 4
That makes motions which attempt to deceive the opponent.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of balk
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does balking come from?
By surface analysis, balk + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).