Thesaurus results for BALLAST

ballast

noun

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of ballast The species first turned up, probably from the ballast water or hull of a foreign ship, state officials say, in October 2024 in the Port of Stockton. —

Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 8 May 2026 Federal officials recently launched a prize competition to reward ideas for controlling the flow of aquatic species into and out of the ballasts of boats that travel among the various lakes and waterways across the United States. —

Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 7 May 2026 Some of the young women who lived there say the support was critical — ballast in a storm. —

Johnny Dodd, PEOPLE, 23 Apr. 2026 When the Fed began raising rates in 2022, the correlation between stocks and bonds turned positive — meaning that bonds weren’t the portfolio ballast investors were expecting. —

Michelle Fox, CNBC, 20 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ballast

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ballast

Noun

At least 12 vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, including 5 tankers and 7 cargo ships, data from Marine Traffic showed.

— Caitlin Danaher, CNN Money, 20 June 2026
In total, 25 ships transited Hormuz on Thursday including cargo, container and other vessel classes, in addition to the tankers, according to Kpler.

— Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 19 June 2026