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A ridge of land left unplowed between furrows, or at the end of a field; a piece missed by the plow slipping aside. Bad plowmen made balks of such ground. Fuller.

A large pill, a form in which medicine is commonly given to horses; a bolus. White.

Fig.: That which gives, or helps to maintain, uprightness, steadiness, and security. It [piety] is the right ballast of prosperity. Barrow. Ballast engine, a steam engine used in excavating and for digging and raising stones and gravel for ballast. -- Ship in ballast, a ship carring only ballast.

A ball or globe on the top of a pillar, church, etc., as at St. Paul's, in London. [R.]

A leap of a horse, as between two pillars, or upon a straight line, so that when his four feet are in the air, he shows only the shoes of his hind feet, without jerking out.

A solution used as a vehicle in applying bronze pigments. In addition to acetote, benzine, and a little pyroxylin, it contains amyl acetate, which gives it the odor of bananas.

In Gothic architecture, the molding, or suite of moldings, which encircles the pillars and small shafts.

ke against another object, in such a way as to make a loud noise; as, to bang a drum or a piano; to bang a door (against the doorpost or casing) in shutting it.

A mound, pile, or ridge of earth, raised above the surrounding level; hence, anything shaped like a mound or ridge of earth; as, a bank of clouds; a bank of snow. They cast up a bank against the city. 2 Sam. xx. 15.

A kind of flag attached to a spear or pike by a crosspiece, and used by a chief as his standard in battle. Hang out our banners on the outward walls. Shak.

A piece of wood, metal, or other material, long in proportion to its breadth or thickness, used as a lever and for various other purposes, but especially for a hindrance, obstruction, or fastening; as, the bars of a fence or gate; the bar of a door. Thou shalt make bars of shittim wood. Ex. xxvi. 26.…

A blackish or dun variety of the pigeon, originally brought from Barbary.

A cruel, savage, brutal man; one destitute of pity or humanity. "Thou fell barbarian." Philips.

Africa from Egypt to the Atlantic. Hence: A Barbary horse; a barb. [Obs.] Also, a kind of pigeon. Barbary ape (Zoöl.), an ape (Macacus innus) of north Africa and Gibraltar Rock, being the only monkey inhabiting Europe. It is very commonly trained by showmen.

A piece of music composed in imitation of such a song.

A piece of defensive (or, sometimes, ornamental) armor for a horse's neck, breast, and flanks; a barb. [Often in the pl.]

Specifically, Peruvian bark. Bark bed. See Bark stove (below). -- Bark pit, a pit filled with bark and water, in which hides are steeped in tanning. -- Bark stove (Hort.), a glazed structure for keeping tropical plants, having a bed of tanner's bark (called a bark bed) or other fermentable matter which produces a moi…

Formerly, any small sailing vessel, as a pinnace, fishing smack, etc.; also, a rowing boat; a barge. Now applied poetically to a sailing vessel or boat of any kind. Byron.

A pistol. [Slang] Dickens.

A pair of pistols. [Slang]