“Balk” or “Baulk”

Language

Balk and baulk are both English terms.

Usage

Balk is predominantly used in 🇺🇸 American (US) English (en-US) while baulk is predominantly used in 🇬🇧 British English (used in UK/AU/NZ) (en-GB).

In terms of actual appearance and usage, here's a breakdown by country, with usage level out of 100 (if available) 👇:

Term	US	UK	India	Philippines	Canada	Australia	Liberia	Ireland	New Zealand	Jamaica	Trinidad & Tobago	Guyana
balk	97	76	95	95	94	71	0	76	80	100	100	0
baulk	3	24	5	5	6	29	0	24	20	0	0	0

• In the United States, there is a preference for "balk" over "baulk" (97 to 3).
• In the United Kingdom, there is a preference for "balk" over "baulk" (76 to 24).
• In India, there is a preference for "balk" over "baulk" (95 to 5).
• In the Philippines, there is a preference for "balk" over "baulk" (95 to 5).
• In Canada, there is a preference for "balk" over "baulk" (94 to 6).
• In Australia, there is a preference for "balk" over "baulk" (71 to 29).
• In Liberia, there is not enough data to determine a preference between "balk" and "baulk".
• In Ireland, there is a preference for "balk" over "baulk" (76 to 24).
• In New Zealand, there is a preference for "balk" over "baulk" (80 to 20).
• In Jamaica, there is a preference for "balk" over "baulk" (100 to 0).
• In Trinidad & Tobago, there is a preference for "balk" over "baulk" (100 to 0).
• In Guyana, there is not enough data to determine a preference between "balk" and "baulk".

Examples

Below, we provide some examples of when to use balk or baulk with sample sentences.

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