Definition of "balk" []

• To stop short and refuse to go on: The horse balked at the jump. (verb-intransitive)
• To refuse obstinately or abruptly: She balked at the very idea of compromise. (verb-intransitive)
• Sports To make an incomplete or misleading motion. (verb-intransitive)
• Baseball To make an illegal motion before pitching, allowing one or more base runners to advance one base. (verb-intransitive)
• To check or thwart by or as if by an obstacle. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Beckett got upset with West in the fifth inning after he called a balk on an attempted pickoff toss to first base."
• ""I thought time was called (by the umpire), but it was obviously a pleasant surprise to see them call a balk," said Johnson."
• ""I'd like to find out what he called a balk on me."