baulk
noun · verb
Simple meaning
An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by ploughing.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
bawkIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbɔk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
British spelling
An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing.
verb
British spelling
To pass over or by.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Typical Use
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (British spelling) An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing.
Used this way, baulk is a word tied to one variety of English that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. Most speakers understand it but seldom reach for it.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Regional
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Uncommon in everyday speech
Usage note
Mainly used in British English, so it may read as unusual elsewhere.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Line across a billiard table behind which the cue balls are placed at the start of a game.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.