intransitive verb

Hesitate or be unwilling to accept an idea or undertaking.

any gardener will at first balk at enclosing the garden

eschew,resist,refuse to,be unwilling to,draw the line at,be reluctant to,draw back from,flinch from,shrink from,shy from,recoil from,quail at,demur from,hesitate over,scruple to,take exception to,not like to,hate to,jib at

noun

An illegal motion made by a pitcher that may deceive a base runner.

Because of the balk, both runners advanced one base, giving the Twins a 5-4 victory.