| balk |
to stop suddenly and refuse to proceed. [7 definitions] |
| Balkan |
of or pertaining to the Balkan States or their peoples. [3 definitions] |
| Balkanize |
(often l.c.) to divide up into mutually antagonistic political units too small to maintain their independence or autonomy effectively. |
| Balkan Peninsula |
a European peninsula between the Adriatic Sea on the west and the Black and Aegean Seas on the east. |
| Balkan States |
the countries on the Balkan Peninsula, including Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, and European Turkey; the Balkans. |
| balkline |
a line parallel and close to one end of a billiard table, from behind which the opening shot is made. |
| balky |
inclined to stop short and then refuse to proceed; stubborn; obstinate. |
| ball1 |
a spherical or nearly spherical body . [7 definitions] |
| ball2 |
a large social function at which there is formal dancing. [2 definitions] |
| ballad |
a narrative poem or song. [2 definitions] |
| ballade |
a poem of three eight-line or ten-line stanzas followed by an envoy of four or five lines, the stanzas and the envoy all having the same last line. [2 definitions] |
| balladeer |
one who sings ballads. |
| balladry |
ballads in general, or collectively. [2 definitions] |
| ballad stanza |
a four-line stanza often used in ballads, the second and fourth lines of which rhyme. |
| ball and chain |
a heavy ball attached by a chain to a prisoner's ankle to prevent escape. |
| ball-and-socket joint |
a skeletal joint in which the ball-shaped end of a bone, often part of a limb, fits into and rotates quite freely within the hollow, spherical socket of another bone. [2 definitions] |
| ballast |
heavy material placed in the hold of a boat or ship to make it more stable. [4 definitions] |
| ball bearing |
a bearing composed of a track containing freely rolling metal balls, against which or within which a shaft or other part can rotate without friction. [2 definitions] |
| ball boy |
a boy or young man who retrieves stray balls during a tennis or baseball game, or who has charge of balls used in practice, as in football and basketball. |
| ball cock |
a device used to regulate the supply of water in a tank or toilet, consisting of a lever connected to a floating ball that shuts a valve when raised and opens it when lowered. |
| ballerina |
a woman who is a principal dancer in a ballet troupe. [2 definitions] |