What's the difference between back and balk?

Back


Definition:

  • (n.) A large shallow vat; a cistern, tub, or trough, used by brewers, distillers, dyers, picklers, gluemakers, and others, for mixing or cooling wort, holding water, hot glue, etc.
  • (n.) A ferryboat. See Bac, 1.
  • (n.) In human beings, the hinder part of the body, extending from the neck to the end of the spine; in other animals, that part of the body which corresponds most nearly to such part of a human being; as, the back of a horse, fish, or lobster.
  • (n.) An extended upper part, as of a mountain or ridge.
  • (n.) The outward or upper part of a thing, as opposed to the inner or lower part; as, the back of the hand, the back of the foot, the back of a hand rail.
  • (n.) The part opposed to the front; the hinder or rear part of a thing; as, the back of a book; the back of an army; the back of a chimney.
  • (n.) The part opposite to, or most remote from, that which fronts the speaker or actor; or the part out of sight, or not generally seen; as, the back of an island, of a hill, or of a village.
  • (n.) The part of a cutting tool on the opposite side from its edge; as, the back of a knife, or of a saw.
  • (n.) A support or resource in reserve.
  • (n.) The keel and keelson of a ship.
  • (n.) The upper part of a lode, or the roof of a horizontal underground passage.
  • (n.) A garment for the back; hence, clothing.
  • (a.) Being at the back or in the rear; distant; remote; as, the back door; back settlements.
  • (a.) Being in arrear; overdue; as, back rent.
  • (a.) Moving or operating backward; as, back action.
  • (v. i.) To get upon the back of; to mount.
  • (v. i.) To place or seat upon the back.
  • (v. i.) To drive or force backward; to cause to retreat or recede; as, to back oxen.
  • (v. i.) To make a back for; to furnish with a back; as, to back books.
  • (v. i.) To adjoin behind; to be at the back of.
  • (v. i.) To write upon the back of; as, to back a letter; to indorse; as, to back a note or legal document.
  • (v. i.) To support; to maintain; to second or strengthen by aid or influence; as, to back a friend.
  • (v. i.) To bet on the success of; -- as, to back a race horse.
  • (v. i.) To move or go backward; as, the horse refuses to back.
  • (v. i.) To change from one quarter to another by a course opposite to that of the sun; -- used of the wind.
  • (v. i.) To stand still behind another dog which has pointed; -- said of a dog.
  • (adv.) In, to, or toward, the rear; as, to stand back; to step back.
  • (adv.) To the place from which one came; to the place or person from which something is taken or derived; as, to go back for something left behind; to go back to one's native place; to put a book back after reading it.
  • (adv.) To a former state, condition, or station; as, to go back to private life; to go back to barbarism.
  • (adv.) (Of time) In times past; ago.
  • (adv.) Away from contact; by reverse movement.
  • (adv.) In concealment or reserve; in one's own possession; as, to keep back the truth; to keep back part of the money due to another.
  • (adv.) In a state of restraint or hindrance.
  • (adv.) In return, repayment, or requital.
  • (adv.) In withdrawal from a statement, promise, or undertaking; as, he took back0 the offensive words.
  • (adv.) In arrear; as, to be back in one's rent.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Arda Turan's deflected long-range strike puts Atlético back in control.
  • (2) In a debate in the House of Commons, I will ask Britain, the US and other allies to convert generalised offers of help into more practical support with greater air cover, military surveillance and helicopter back-up, to hunt down the terrorists who abducted the girls.
  • (3) Recent data collected by the Games Outcomes Project and shared on the website Gamasutra backs up the view that crunch compounds these problems rather than solving them.
  • (4) Northern Ireland will not be dragged back by terrorists who have nothing but misery to offer."
  • (5) Patrice Evra Evra Handed a five-match international ban for his part in the France squad’s mutiny against Raymond Domenech at the 2010 World Cup, it took Evra almost a year to force his way back in.
  • (6) On the way back to Pristina later, the lawyer told me everything was fine.
  • (7) Names, and the absence of them, could be important Facebook Twitter Pinterest Don’t look back … Daisy Ridley’s Rey and John Boyega’s stormtrooper Finn.
  • (8) David Cameron has insisted that membership of the European Union is in Britain's national interest and vital for "millions of jobs and millions of families", as he urged his own backbenchers not to back calls for a referendum on the UK's relationship with Brussels.
  • (9) Critics say he is unelectable as prime minister and will never be able to implement his plans, but he has nonetheless pulled attention back to an issue that many thought had gone away for good.
  • (10) The water is embossed with small waves and it has a chill glassiness which throws light back up at the sky.
  • (11) Now, as the Senate takes up a weakened House bill along with the House's strengthened backdoor-proof amendment, it's time to put focus back on sweeping reform.
  • (12) Anxious mood and other symptoms of anxiety were commonly seen in patients with chronic low back pain.
  • (13) When you have been out for a month you need to prepare properly before you come back.” Pellegrini will make his own assessment of Kompany’s fitness before deciding whether to play him in the Bournemouth game, which he is careful to stress may not be the foregone conclusion the league table might suggest.
  • (14) Sterile, pruritic papules and papulopustules that formed annular rings developed on the back of a 58-year-old woman.
  • (15) A recent visit by a member of Iraq's government from Baghdad to Basra and back cost about $12,000 (£7,800), the cable claimed.
  • (16) Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated previous LBP or back pain in another location of the spine were strongly associated with LBP during the study year.
  • (17) Former lawmaker and historian Faraj Najm said the ruling resets Libya “back to square one” and that the choice now faced by the Tobruk-based parliament is “between bad and worse”.
  • (18) He’s been so consistent this season.” Barkley took the two late penalties because the regular taker, Romelu Lukaku, had been withdrawn at half-time with a back injury that is likely to keep the striker out of Saturday’s trip to Stoke City.
  • (19) Environment groups Environment groups that have strongly backed low-carbon power have barely wavered in their opposition to nuclear in the last decade, although their arguments now are now much about the cost than the danger it might pose.
  • (20) United believe it is more likely the right-back can be bought in the summer but are exploring what would represent the considerable coup of acquiring the 26-year-old immediately.

Balk


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To omit, miss, or overlook by chance.
  • (v. t.) To miss intentionally; to avoid; to shun; to refuse; to let go by; to shirk.
  • (v. i.) A ridge of land left unplowed between furrows, or at the end of a field; a piece missed by the plow slipping aside.
  • (v. i.) A great beam, rafter, or timber; esp., the tie-beam of a house. The loft above was called "the balks."
  • (v. i.) One of the beams connecting the successive supports of a trestle bridge or bateau bridge.
  • (v. i.) A hindrance or disappointment; a check.
  • (v. i.) A sudden and obstinate stop; a failure.
  • (v. i.) A deceptive gesture of the pitcher, as if to deliver the ball.
  • (v. t.) To leave or make balks in.
  • (v. t.) To leave heaped up; to heap up in piles.
  • (v. t.) To disappoint; to frustrate; to foil; to baffle; to /hwart; as, to balk expectation.
  • (v. i.) To engage in contradiction; to be in opposition.
  • (v. i.) To stop abruptly and stand still obstinately; to jib; to stop short; to swerve; as, the horse balks.
  • (v. i.) To indicate to fishermen, by shouts or signals from shore, the direction taken by the shoals of herring.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Since the first is balked by the obstacle of deficit reduction, emphasis has turned to the second.
  • (2) The US and its allies are balking at Iranian demands for all UN sanctions to be lifted at the start of a deal.
  • (3) The eastern European nations balked at the “emergency brake” on benefits to EU migrants.
  • (4) Critics balk at the original asking price of $399, but the initial stock sells out in five hours.
  • (5) In recent years, though, a number of his near comtemporaries – notably Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen – have been revitalised by taking on the kind of touring schedules that many a younger artist might balk at.
  • (6) To attract support from moderate Republicans who balked at the plan, an additional $8bn was included over five years to fund so-called high-risk pools that would help subsidize people with preexisting conditions.. Health policy experts have argued the fix is insufficient.
  • (7) One government source said: "Patrick McLoughlin is not balking at these ideas, which are interesting.
  • (8) Her work, which tackles the problems women face in Egypt and across the world, has always attracted outrage, but she never seems to have balked at this; she has continued to address controversial issues such as prostitution, domestic violence and religious fundamentalism in her writing.
  • (9) Young parents who have seen their tax credits cut and wages stagnate might balk at George Osborne’s repeated claims that “the economic plan is working”.
  • (10) Duration of treadmill exercise on a Balke treadmill protocol increased similarly in the two groups, 62% in the older group (from 8.9 to 14.3 minutes) and 40% in the younger group (from 12.2 to 17.1 minutes) (p = NS).
  • (11) The Wigan Athletic chairman, Dave Whelan , could step in to save jobs at his stricken former company JJB Sports, which is searching for a buyer after shareholders balked at pumping more cash into the troubled chain.
  • (12) Republicans in the house have already balked at the $50bn in immediate relief for Sandy that went to the house on Tuesday.
  • (13) It has been known for weeks that the US balked at Germany’s demand for a no-spy agreement, in part because of the precedent it would set for other countries that might also ask not to be spied on, and in part because Germany , which has limited spy capabilities, had nothing to offer in trade.
  • (14) Distribution of mitoses and dead hepatocytes in the hepatic balk was investigated.
  • (15) The new service unveiled on Friday will allow viewers who balk at a monthly Sky pay-TV subscription to access on-demand content including the BBC iPlayer, Facebook and Sky News.
  • (16) I think we balk at commercialising babies for the same reason that there's no provision under law for financial compensation if you lose a loved one.
  • (17) The misery of the left was, in the 1980s, matched by the triumphalism of the free marketeers, who had transformed Britain beyond many of their wildest ambitions, and began to balk at the restraints put on their dreams by the European project.
  • (18) Any Moldy Peach diehards balking at the idea of Green duetting with someone other than Dawson are missing out, though: this record sounds as though he and Shapiro have known each other for ever.
  • (19) Many countries, including major ones, won’t be willing to make their mitigation commitment legally binding at the international level, and once some balk, the premise of a legal form applicable to all unravels,” he said.
  • (20) Balking as never before at being the EU's cashpoint, Germany has been the main obstacle, although others have also hidden behind Berlin and quietly egged it on.