Definition of "balky" [balk•y]

• Given to stopping and refusing to go on: a balky horse; a balky client. (adjective)
• Difficult to operate or start: a balky switch; a balky engine. (adjective)

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.

• "Williams also recalled a balky computer system that routinely displayed nothing but a blue screen and a system to removed gases from the rig's drilling shack that had been in a bypass mode for five years."
• "Sure, you could say the umps had something to do with the outcome today, but even with the 'balky' call and missed call at first, the game could have easily been won."
• "Aceves, according to George King of the New York Post, was treated for a "balky" back during the offseason, a condition that might be easier to manage if he pitched every fifth day."