English English Dictionary
Dictionary
A crossbow.
Like a fish of the genus Balistes; of the family Balistidae. See Filefish.
A narrow opening, often cruciform, through which arrows might be discharged.
A pole or a frame raised as a sea beacon or a landmark.
To miss intentionally; to avoid; to shun; to refuse; to let go by; to shirk.
To indicate to fishermen, by shouts or signals from shore, the direction taken by the shoals of herring.
To stop abruptly and stand still obstinately; to jib; to stop short; to swerve; as, the horse balks.
To engage in contradiction; to be in opposition.
To disappoint; to frustrate; to foil; to baffle; to /hwart; as, to balk expectation.
To omit, miss, or overlook by chance.
To leave heaped up; to heap up in piles.
A hindrance or disappointment; a check.
A great beam, rafter, or timber; esp., the tie-beam of a house. The loft above was called "the balks."
To leave or make balks in.
One of the beams connecting the successive supports of a trestle bridge or bateau bridge.
A sudden and obstinate stop; a failure.
A deceptive gesture of the pitcher, as if to deliver the ball.
A ridge of land left unplowed between furrows, or at the end of a field; a piece missed by the plow slipping aside.
of Balk
One who, or that which balks.