Ballast is any substance that is used in ships or hot-air balloons to make them heavier and more stable. Ballast usually consists of water, sand, or iron.
Synonyms: counterbalance, balance, weight, stability More Synonyms of ballast
ballast in British English
(ˈbæləst)
noun
1.
any dense heavy material, such as lead or iron pigs, used to stabilize a vessel, esp one that is not carrying cargo
2.
crushed rock, broken stone, etc, used for the foundation of a road or railway track
3.
coarse aggregate of sandy gravel, used in making concrete
4.
anything that provides stability or weight
5. electronics
a device for maintaining the current in a circuit
verb(transitive)
6.
to give stability or weight to
Word origin
C16: probably from Low German; related to Old Danish, Old Swedish barlast, literally: bare load (without commercial value), from bar bare, mere + last load, burden
ballast in American English
(ˈbæləst)
noun
1.
anything heavy carried in a ship, aircraft, or vehicle to give stability or in a balloon or airship to help control altitude
2.
anything giving stability and firmness to character, human relations, etc.
3.
crushed rock or gravel, as that placed between and below railroad ties
verb transitive
4.
to furnish with ballast; stabilize
5.
to fill in (a railroad bed) with ballast
Word origin
LowG < MDu < bal, bad, useless (akin to OE bealu, bale2) + last, a load
Examples of 'ballast' in a sentence
ballast
The weight of public opinion provides ballast in an atmosphere of social equality.
Roper, Jon Democracy and its Critics - Anglo-American democratic thought in the nineteenth century (1989)
Items at either end of the concert provided welcome ballast.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Bags filled with old sand provide ballast to ensure that it can resist high winds.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It is here that the film takes on its emotional ballast.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
So when they offer up their memories of early adolescence, they give the show emotional ballast.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
I was a sinking ship, the ballast gone.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
He and Read provide real ballast to a line-up that has wobbled a bit in the past.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It has time, and no shortage of intellectual ballast, but it is in trouble.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Add to this the numerous interviews, which would provide the colour and emotional ballast, and the schedule was a marathon designed to test your patience.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
In other languages
ballast
British English: ballast NOUN
Ballast is any substance that is used in ships or hot-air balloons to make them heavier and more stable.
American English: ballast
Brazilian Portuguese: lastro
Chinese: 压舱物
European Spanish: lastre
French: lest
German: Ballast
Italian: zavorra
Japanese: バラスト
Korean: 항공 기구의 부력 조절용 밸러스트
European Portuguese: lastro
Latin American Spanish: lastre
(noun)
Definition
a substance, such as sand, used to stabilize a ship when it is not carrying cargo
She may have to discharge some ballast to make her lighter.
Synonyms
counterbalance
balance
The medicines you are currently taking could be affecting your balance.
weight
Straining to lift heavy weights can cause back injury.
stability
equilibrium
For the economy to be in equilibrium, income must equal expenditure.
sandbag
counterweight
stabilizer
Additional synonyms
in the sense of balance
Definition
stability of mind or body
The medicines you are currently taking could be affecting your balance.
Synonyms
equilibrium,
stability,
steadiness,
evenness,
equipoise,
counterpoise
in the sense of equilibrium
Definition
a stable condition in which forces cancel one another
For the economy to be in equilibrium, income must equal expenditure.
Synonyms
stability,
balance,
symmetry,
steadiness,
evenness,
equipoise,
counterpoise
in the sense of weight
Definition
any heavy load
Straining to lift heavy weights can cause back injury.