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
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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
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Lightning All-Electric Prototype, the vehicle that famously pulled more than 1 million pounds of freight rail cars in a 2019 television commercial.—
Jamie L. LaReau,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2025
-
Under his tenure, DOT audited Boeing 737 crashes, trucking and freight rail theft, and had ongoing investigations of Tesla and Space X, which are owned by Elon Musk, the billionaire appointed by Trump to lead the federal DOGE.—
Jeffrey Schweers,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Small, intentional changes — like expressing appreciation, communicating needs clearly and checking in about emotional and mental loads — can breathe new life into a relationship.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
30 Mar. 2025
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Time is another factor: Offering loads to alternate carriers can add hours to tendering.—
Andre Claudio,
Sourcing Journal,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
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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
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One example can be as simple as shipments that are missing bills of lading or origin documents.—
Forbes,
Forbes,
1 June 2021
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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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Even in relationships where physical chores are divided equally, one partner often bears the mental burden of ensuring that everything runs smoothly.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
30 Mar. 2025
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But not to carry the burden of homeless services for the entire tri-county area.—
Chelsea Cantilli,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 Mar. 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 13 Apr. 2025.
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