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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Recent Examples of ballast
Other items from the ship, including the ballasts that served as counterweights for the human cargo, are remaining on display and will be returned to South Africa in two years.
—
ABC News, 12 Mar. 2026
The crew reports that a port ballast tank is losing water which suggests some form of hull breach but the ship remains stable and safely afloat.
—CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026
At the end of each leg is a ballast that reaches 20 meters deep.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Mar. 2026
Some people regard weed-killers and herbicides as dangerous for consumers and the environment, an attitude lent ballast by lawsuits filed against the makers of Roundup, owned previously by Monsanto and now part of Bayer.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ballast
ABC News, 12 Mar. 2026
The crew reports that a port ballast tank is losing water which suggests some form of hull breach but the ship remains stable and safely afloat.
—CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026
At the end of each leg is a ballast that reaches 20 meters deep.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Mar. 2026
Some people regard weed-killers and herbicides as dangerous for consumers and the environment, an attitude lent ballast by lawsuits filed against the makers of Roundup, owned previously by Monsanto and now part of Bayer.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ballast
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ballast
Noun
-
Comparable cargo e-bikes like the Rad Power RadWagon ($2,399) and the Specialized Haul ST ($2,700) will run you significantly more.—
Erica Zazo,
Outside,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The last cargo ships that left the Gulf before the war started have nearly all reached their destination in Asia, which is likely to face the first visible demand losses in April, according to JPMorgan.—
Chloé Farand,
semafor.com,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In a September petition, the World Shipping Council (WSC) took issue with the section that determined that the FMC could review export freight rates on the grounds that Congress ended the commission’s regulatory oversight over freight rates in 1984.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The site is being divided into several parcels, one destined for a Yokohama-like building with an attached hotel, another for housing, a third for shipping perishable freight.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Now, Nicasio and other students' work is paying off, giving people a place to take a load off.—
Brady Halbleib,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
More income meant more leverage, the thinking went, and more ability to negotiate a fairer split of the cooking, cleaning, laundry, childcare, pet care—the whole to-do list and mental load of running a household.—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
On Sunday, Ukrainian drones attacked Primorsk, Russia's largest oil export port on the Baltic Sea, damaging an oil reservoir and oil loading infrastructure, Ukraine's general staff said in a social media post.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Mar. 2026
-
The shooter and his pals passed the gun to each other in a bedroom, loading and unloading the ammo, prosecutors say.—
Kerry Burke,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Using standard attachments and a payload system that allowed for quick swap-outs, it's been possible to make surprisingly large changes to the spyplane, including adding an extra seat for trainers or missions that require a specialist operator.—
David Szondy
March 29,
New Atlas,
29 Mar. 2026
-
The rocket's upper stage, meanwhile, will haul the 119 payloads to low Earth orbit, where they'll be deployed starting about 55 minutes after liftoff.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Cargill built a large soybean-lading facility at Santarem, some 500 miles up the Amazon.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
4 Jan. 2026
-
One example can be as simple as shipments that are missing bills of lading or origin documents.—
Forbes,
Forbes,
1 June 2021
Noun
-
The new school is expected to ease a long-standing burden for families living south of Idaho Highway 44.—
Noah Daly,
Idaho Statesman,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Nothing except getting into fierce arguments with fellow-Jews, some would say, which Olitzky—who has a round, boyish face and a conciliatory manner—portrayed as a privilege rather than a burden.—
Eyal Press,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
But engineers at Nissan are looking at the battery pack as more than just deadweight to be carried around.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Feb. 2026
-
The university that once promised to buoy scientific aspirations now feels like a deadweight.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ballast.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ballast. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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