ballast

[ bal-uhst ]

/ ˈbæl əst /

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See synonyms for: ballast / ballasted / ballasting on Thesaurus.com

noun

Nautical. any heavy material carried temporarily or permanently in a vessel to provide desired draft and stability.

Aeronautics. something heavy, as bags of sand, placed in the car of a balloon for control of altitude and, less often, of attitude, or placed in an aircraft to control the position of the center of gravity.

anything that gives mental, moral, or political stability or steadiness: the ballast of a steady income.

gravel, broken stone, slag, etc., placed between and under the ties of a railroad to give stability, provide drainage, and distribute loads.

Electricity.

Also called ballast resistor . a device, often a resistor, that maintains the current in a circuit at a constant value by varying its resistance in order to counteract changes in voltage.
a device that maintains the current through a fluorescent or mercury lamp at the desired constant value, sometimes also providing the necessary starting voltage and current.

verb (used with object)

to furnish with ballast: to ballast a ship.

to give steadiness to; keep steady: parental responsibilities that ballast a person.

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Idioms about ballast

in ballast, Nautical. carrying only ballast; carrying no cargo.

Origin of ballast

1450–1500; <Middle Low German, perhaps ultimately <Scandinavian; compare Old Danish, Old Swedish barlast, equivalent to barbare¹ + last load; see last⁴

OTHER WORDS FROM ballast

bal·last·er, nounbal·last·ic

[buh-las-tik], /bəˈlæs tɪk/, adjectiveo·ver·bal·last, verb (used with object)sub·bal·last, noun

un·der·bal·last, verb (used with object)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use ballast in a sentence

While not exactly the Ugly American, Sinatra provided plenty of his own homegrown ballast.
Frank Sinatra and the Birth of the Jet Set|William Stadiem|August 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Especially the Southern ones, who by and large run the party, or at least provide its cultural ballast.
What That RNC Aide’s Equal Pay Blunder on MSNBC Says About Her Party|Michael Tomasky|April 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Gold lost its structural ballast when it lost its formal relationship to money,” he concludes.
All that Glitters Is Not Gold: Inside the New Bubble|Wendy Smith|December 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Straighten up and fly right: the capsule is rolling and jettisoning its remaining ballast masses for parachute deploy.
Curiosity’s Mars Landing Narrated Moment by Moment by Flight Director Keith Comeaux|Keith Comeaux|August 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Spin down, turn to entry attitude and jettison ballast mass in one minute.
Curiosity’s Mars Landing Narrated Moment by Moment by Flight Director Keith Comeaux|Keith Comeaux|August 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Sand and gravel are also used for "fill," for engine sands, railroad ballast and glass.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia|Dorothy M. Torpey
Old and new measurements, tonnage, time allowances and movable ballast, are all a sealed book to me.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume II (of 3)|Charles James Wills
The big sloop, hard aground and full of iron ballast, was not a thing to be moved easily.
The Rival Campers|Ruel Perley Smith
Our new craft worked and sailed well, after a little addition of ballast.
Famous Adventures And Prison Escapes of the Civil War|Various
I ordered the ballast to be thrown overboard, and determined, as our only chance, to attempt to force her over the reef.
Famous Adventures And Prison Escapes of the Civil War|Various

British Dictionary definitions for ballast

ballast

/ (ˈbæləst) /

noun

any dense heavy material, such as lead or iron pigs, used to stabilize a vessel, esp one that is not carrying cargo

crushed rock, broken stone, etc, used for the foundation of a road or railway track

coarse aggregate of sandy gravel, used in making concrete

anything that provides stability or weight

electronics a device for maintaining the current in a circuit

verb (tr)

to give stability or weight to

Word Origin for ballast

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

ballast

Idioms about ballast

Origin of ballast

OTHER WORDS FROM ballast

Words related to ballast

How to use ballast in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ballast

Word Origin for ballast