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
The species first turned up, probably from the ballast water or hull of a foreign ship, state officials say, in October 2024 in the Port of Stockton.
—
Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 8 May 2026
Federal officials recently launched a prize competition to reward ideas for controlling the flow of aquatic species into and out of the ballasts of boats that travel among the various lakes and waterways across the United States.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 7 May 2026
Some of the young women who lived there say the support was critical — ballast in a storm.
—Johnny Dodd, PEOPLE, 23 Apr. 2026
When the Fed began raising rates in 2022, the correlation between stocks and bonds turned positive — meaning that bonds weren’t the portfolio ballast investors were expecting.
—Michelle Fox, CNBC, 20 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ballast
Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 8 May 2026
Federal officials recently launched a prize competition to reward ideas for controlling the flow of aquatic species into and out of the ballasts of boats that travel among the various lakes and waterways across the United States.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 7 May 2026
Some of the young women who lived there say the support was critical — ballast in a storm.
—Johnny Dodd, PEOPLE, 23 Apr. 2026
When the Fed began raising rates in 2022, the correlation between stocks and bonds turned positive — meaning that bonds weren’t the portfolio ballast investors were expecting.
—Michelle Fox, CNBC, 20 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ballast
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ballast
Noun
-
At least 12 vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, including 5 tankers and 7 cargo ships, data from Marine Traffic showed.—
Caitlin Danaher,
CNN Money,
20 June 2026
-
In total, 25 ships transited Hormuz on Thursday including cargo, container and other vessel classes, in addition to the tankers, according to Kpler.—
Spencer Kimball,
CNBC,
19 June 2026
Noun
-
Spalding contends that the container manufacturers sold equipment at inflated prices to leasing companies, ocean carriers and logistics providers, which then incorporated those costs into lease rates, freight charges and transportation fees.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
18 June 2026
-
Until a final deal is inked and verified, expect continued caution from the global shipping industry which means continued pressure on freight costs.—
Phil Lempert,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
Noun
-
The impact of load management on the NBA has been long-lasting and harmful to the product.—
Nick Friedell,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
-
Students enrolled less than full-time (typically 8 or 9 credits per semester) will have their loan limits reduced in proportion to their credit load.—
Evan Zimmer,
CNBC,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
As a delivery truck backs up to the loading dock of a warehouse on a 1,000-acre apple farm in LaFayette, New York, a worker rolls up the door to the cargo area, revealing 35 three-foot-tall bags filled with 5,000 pounds of weed.—
Will Yakowicz,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2026
-
Folding laundry, loading dishwashers, cleaning kitchens, and navigating cluttered homes require many of the same perception, manipulation, and reasoning capabilities that would eventually allow robots to operate independently on a battlefield.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
Based on the company's H145 platform, the aircraft replaces the cockpit with clamshell cargo doors, freeing up additional space for payloads.—
David Szondy
June 21,
New Atlas,
21 June 2026
-
The future variant is expected to feature greater range, a larger payload, and expanded mission capabilities, including both air-defense and precision-strike roles.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
20 June 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
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However, the housing cost burden for seniors there is high, and so is the level of social isolation among retirees.—
Dobrina Zhekova,
Travel + Leisure,
21 June 2026
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As a result, mothers typically bear the brunt of the caregiving burden in the earliest weeks and months, whereas fathers may take on more responsibility later, around the time many mothers go back to work.—
Tanya Lewis,
Scientific American,
21 June 2026
Noun
-
QuantCube’s indicator measures the volume of deadweight tonnage leaving Iraqi and UAE ports, which provides an estimate of the cargo weight the ships are carrying.—
Joseph Wilkins,
CNBC,
9 June 2026
-
Additionally, the central bank said the total deadweight tonnage of all vessels departing from or arriving at Canadian ports fell from 167 million metric tons in 2016 to 119 million metric tons in 2023, a decline of 28 percent of maritime trade capacity.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
21 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ballast.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ballast. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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