balata n 1: when dried yields a hard substance used e.g. in golf balls [syn: {balata}, {gutta balata}] 2: a tropical hardwood tree yielding balata gum and heavy red timber [syn: {balata}, {balata tree}, {beefwood}, {bully tree}, {Manilkara bidentata}]
Balata \Bal"a*ta\, n. [Sp., prob. fr. native name.] 1. A West Indian sapotaceous tree ({Bumelia retusa}). [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 2. The bully tree ({Minusops globosa}); also, its milky juice ({); also, its milky juice (}), which when dried constitutes an elastic gum called {chicle}, or {chicle gum}. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]