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
They are also well placed to help provide tools needed to rebuild the country: security ballast from Turkey, the NATO military power on Syria’s northern border, and oil millions from the Gulf.
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Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Dec. 2024
Trump’s nomination to his foreign policy team of stalwart advocates of Israel, such as Senator Marco Rubio for secretary of state, former Governor Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel, and Representative Elise Stefanik as ambassador to the United Nations, adds ballast to that notion.
—Shalom Lipner, Foreign Affairs, 25 Nov. 2024
The Shipwreck Snorkel Trail, which includes an anchor, five concrete cannons and a ballast pile, was dedicated in 2002 by explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau (Jacques Cousteau’s son), according to the town.
—Kari Barnett, Sun Sentinel, 15 Aug. 2024
Advertisement The species has colonized new regions when transported on ships’ hulls or in ballast water that is drained in ports.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for ballast 
Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Dec. 2024
Trump’s nomination to his foreign policy team of stalwart advocates of Israel, such as Senator Marco Rubio for secretary of state, former Governor Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel, and Representative Elise Stefanik as ambassador to the United Nations, adds ballast to that notion.
—Shalom Lipner, Foreign Affairs, 25 Nov. 2024
The Shipwreck Snorkel Trail, which includes an anchor, five concrete cannons and a ballast pile, was dedicated in 2002 by explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau (Jacques Cousteau’s son), according to the town.
—Kari Barnett, Sun Sentinel, 15 Aug. 2024
Advertisement The species has colonized new regions when transported on ships’ hulls or in ballast water that is drained in ports.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for ballast
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ballast
Noun
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SpaceX’s Falcon rockets propelled cargo to orbit 133 times in 2024, with one failure, the vast majority of the 145 launches attempted in the U.S. last year and more than half of the 263 worldwide, according to space activity tracker Jonathan McDowell.Jeremy Bogaisky, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2025
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Port of Long Beach media relations manager Lee Peterson confirmed that the port’s terminals, main road and rail conduits for cargo are all not impacted by the fires.Booth Moore, WWD, 8 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The new center is also a short distance from the DHL international air freight hub, enabling speedier processing of incoming merchandise, outgoing orders and returns.Tianwei Zhang, WWD, 6 Jan. 2025
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Trade relationships like these have led to growth in China's freight trade, with the nation's rails transporting a total of 3.99 billion tons of cargo in 2024, a 1.9 percent increase from the year before.Dan Perry, Newsweek, 2 Jan. 2025
Noun
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People who use antiretroviral medications can reduce the viral load of HIV in the body to undetectable levels, which can stop them from passing it to others.Dan Perry, Newsweek, 4 Jan. 2025
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More than 140,000 trailer hitch locks are being recalled due to a loose part that could cause towing vehicles to detach from their loads.Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 3 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Dave has been amazing transporting all our bags and boxes, loading and unloading.Lexi Carson, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Jan. 2025
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Cleanup crews must do most of the work by hand, sorting, labeling and loading materials into the trucks.Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 9 Jan. 2025
Noun
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But according to Blue Origin, a larger nose cone gives New Glenn twice the cargo volume of Falcon 9, and its powerful engines are designed to propel double the payload mass.Jeremy Bogaisky, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2025
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And in a first, the Starship on Monday will attempt a Starlink payload deployment test – a key capability for the vehicle in the future.Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 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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Homeowners can simply walk away from the burden, cash in hand, for a fair and reasonable price without any hidden fees or expenses.KC Property Group, Kansas City Star, 5 Jan. 2025
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By reducing the administrative burden and offering predictive insights, AI empowers boards to operate with agility and precision in an increasingly complex governance environment.Ethan Stone, USA TODAY, 4 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Not to mention cutting out the deadweight middlemen in publishing.Ollie Barder, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
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That represented 68% of the vessels when measured by deadweight, and the lowest number of tankers tracked with IG club insurance, surpassing 67% uninsured recorded in July and August.Lori Ann LaRocco, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near ballast
Cite this Entry
“Ballast.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ballast. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
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