as in cargo
heavy material (such as rocks or water) that is put on a ship to make it steady or on a balloon to control its height in the air
—often used figuratively
A large amount of ballast kept the boat from capsizing. She provided the ballast the family needed in times of stress.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ballast
And for all that, the old fellow, the recently deceased, did serve, if only as ballast, by way of filling a Chair.
—
Charles Portis, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Zebra and quagga mussels, spiny water flea and dozens of other Eurasian organisms colonized the Great Lakes starting in the late 1900s after arriving in ballast water from transoceanic ships.
—Christine Keiner, The Conversation, 28 Feb. 2025
Republican senators say Trump isn’t making calls to GOP senators to save Hegseth’s floundering nomination and instead is throwing more ballast onto a sinking ship by floating DeSantis as a replacement.
—Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 5 Dec. 2024
Similarly, if a driver weighs under the minimum weight, ballast can also be used to compensate.
—Yara Elshebiny, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ballast
Charles Portis, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Zebra and quagga mussels, spiny water flea and dozens of other Eurasian organisms colonized the Great Lakes starting in the late 1900s after arriving in ballast water from transoceanic ships.
—Christine Keiner, The Conversation, 28 Feb. 2025
Republican senators say Trump isn’t making calls to GOP senators to save Hegseth’s floundering nomination and instead is throwing more ballast onto a sinking ship by floating DeSantis as a replacement.
—Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 5 Dec. 2024
Similarly, if a driver weighs under the minimum weight, ballast can also be used to compensate.
—Yara Elshebiny, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ballast
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ballast
Noun
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And interstate commerce is affected — the extreme flooding across a corridor that includes the major cargo hubs in Louisville, Ky., and Memphis could lead to shipping and supply chain delays, said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather.—
Bruce Schreiner and Obed Lamy,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Apr. 2025
-
The first-stage booster made its 16th flight having previously flown on two crewed and two cargo missions to the International Space Station among others.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
6 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Right now, many companies are telling their manufacturing facilities to delay shipment and not have freight loaded onto a vessel.—
Lori Ann LaRocco,
CNBC,
9 Apr. 2025
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Starting out wasn’t easy - freight was inconsistent, and traditional banks refused to take a chance on their small operation.—
Oweesta,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Forming small study groups focused on specific test sections creates accountability while distributing the cognitive load of mastering difficult material.—
Dr. Aviva Legatt,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Moreover, working the long head emphasizes the eccentric portion of a move—the part when the muscle is lengthening under load—which is a more effective way to improve strength, power, and speed performance compared to traditional resistance training, according to research.—
Jenny McCoy,
SELF,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The trick floor conceals a 5-foot-long (1.5-m) slide-out tray for easier tailgate loading and unpacking.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
27 Mar. 2025
-
Amazon and other customers use it in warehouses for repetitive tasks such as loading and unloading totes.—
Loren Elliott,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
To achieve this, Nighthawk would be equipped with three science payloads, using just 6.6 pounds (3.0 kilograms) of the available 11 lbs (5 kg) of payload mass on Mars Chopper.—
Andrew Jones,
Space.com,
5 Apr. 2025
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For this reason, Isar did not fly any customer payloads on the Spectrum rocket, designed to deliver up to 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms) of payload mass to low-Earth orbit.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
31 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
One example can be as simple as shipments that are missing bills of lading or origin documents.—
Forbes,
Forbes,
1 June 2021
-
According to bills of lading and other records provided to the San Antonio Express-News by officials at 23 food banks, CRE8AD8 delivered about 147,000 boxes total to food banks.—
Tom Orsborn,
ExpressNews.com,
1 July 2020
Noun
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And, if some of our fellow-citizens basically bring actors to power who are clearly no longer on board with freedom and equality for all, then the burden is on them to restore our trust.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2025
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As a result, companies are broadly shifting more of the risk burden onto homeowners.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Losing that 200 pounds of deadweight freed me up to focus on advancing my career.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Mercury News,
6 Apr. 2025
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Losing that 200 pounds of deadweight has freed me up to focus on advancing my career.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ballast.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ballast. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
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