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
As Rose’s impoverished yet imperious mother Ruth, Parson’s dry deliveries offer great comic ballast to this ship of fools.
—
Frank Rizzo, Variety, 13 Apr. 2026
With massive, deep-V hulls and ballast systems that add thousands of pounds, these boats are designed to displace large amounts of water and generate huge waves for wakeboarders and wakesurfers.
—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 2 Apr. 2026
The railroad will also replace four grade crossing surfaces in Wethersfield, replace ties, switch ties with ballast and surfacing.
—Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 15 Mar. 2026
The end of each leg contains a ballast that extends to around 20 meters (65 ft) deep.
—Etiido Uko
march 13, New Atlas, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ballast
Frank Rizzo, Variety, 13 Apr. 2026
With massive, deep-V hulls and ballast systems that add thousands of pounds, these boats are designed to displace large amounts of water and generate huge waves for wakeboarders and wakesurfers.
—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 2 Apr. 2026
The railroad will also replace four grade crossing surfaces in Wethersfield, replace ties, switch ties with ballast and surfacing.
—Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 15 Mar. 2026
The end of each leg contains a ballast that extends to around 20 meters (65 ft) deep.
—Etiido Uko
march 13, New Atlas, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ballast
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ballast
Noun
-
And the Blue Moon Mk1 is a cargo variant of the lander that will later support a crew — but how much later is the question.—
Chelsea Gohd,
Space.com,
8 May 2026
-
During a recent demonstration, the robot pushed cargo onto a conveyor belt and signaled to a nearby worker.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
On Thursday, marine traffic data showed almost no tanker or freight traffic passing through the strait as Iran and the US contest the chokepoint.—
Eleni Giokos,
CNN Money,
7 May 2026
-
Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea are global geopolitical events showing up in fabric costs, freight surcharges, and compressed margins.—
Catherine Nekavand,
Footwear News,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
For a while, we’re cheered at the prospect that Karl Urban might lighten the movie’s load with his meta ironic balsa-wood Don Johnson presence.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
6 May 2026
-
Since 2023, McLane routes using this technology logged 280,000 autonomous miles in Texas, covering 1,400 loads delivered to restaurants.—
Eric Rosenbaum,
CNBC,
6 May 2026
Noun
-
The company’s chief executive said Sunday that inspections found no evidence of leaks from storage tanks, pipelines, loading facilities or nearby tankers.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
10 May 2026
-
The sensor delivered repeatable measurements with low hysteresis, meaning readings stayed consistent during loading and unloading cycles.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
9 May 2026
Noun
-
That creates a large gap for a high-speed, high-payload bomber for conventional strike and specialized missions.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
9 May 2026
-
A little more than three years since NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter ended its pioneering mission at Mars, engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California are designing next-generation Martian rotorcraft to carry heavier payloads longer distances through the planet’s low-density atmosphere.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
8 May 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
-
Opt for lightweight layers Oversized coats take up space and quickly become a burden.—
Chantelle Kincy,
Travel + Leisure,
10 May 2026
-
Yet the compliance burden falls disproportionately on smaller, independent operators who lack the scale or political muscle of the majors.—
David Blackmon,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
By integrating turbine and ramjet technologies, a concept dating back to the end of World War II, the scientists removed the inactive deadweight and simplified the model.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The university that once promised to buoy scientific aspirations now feels like a deadweight.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ballast.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ballast. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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