Thesaurus results for BALLAST

ballast

noun

Definition of ballast

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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of ballast The balloon was so weighed down that the men had to throw their sandbag ballast overboard just to gain the air. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 July 2026 Musk’s unusual lock-up structure presents investors with a case of extremes, giving the stock a ballast of stability for the first year, followed by the potential for a supernova event. — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 3 July 2026 And those ships exchanging ballast water from, say, southern Lake Michigan in Lake Superior could still move invasive species from one water body to another. — Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 3 July 2026 More than 500 vessels are waiting to leave the Gulf, including more than 100 laden tankers and around 100 in ballast that could load new cargo. — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 19 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for ballast

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ballast

Noun

After landing, the aircraft automatically released its cargo before departing, eliminating the need for ground crews or dedicated unloading equipment.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 29 July 2026
Terminals typically see a slump in June, July and August in the time between when back-to-school goods move through the port and the start of the holiday gift cargo season.

— AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 29 July 2026

Definition of cargo

Noun

Its only link to the province’s highways is a 5-hour train ride that shuttles passengers, freight, and vehicles through the Boreal forest.

— IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 30 July 2026
From the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea to the Black Sea, attacks on commercial vessels have disrupted trade, raised insurance and freight costs, and forced shipping companies to reconsider routes once treated as dependable.

— Chloe Taylor,Sam Meredith,Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 30 July 2026

Definition of freight

Noun

He has been charged with failure to secure a load and having expired vehicle registration, police said.

— Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 30 July 2026
Washing clothes with cold water, running only full loads, and occasionally air-drying clothes can help reduce energy consumption.

— Lauren Jarvis-Gibson July 29, Sacbee.com, 29 July 2026

Definition of load

Noun

To power autonomous trailer loading, Foresight reasons across three spatial dimensions and time to optimize how packages are placed for space, stability and speed across a wide range of operating conditions.

— Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 3 Aug. 2026
Installation and maintenance, loading and stocking and construction jobs, have also failed to recover.

— Irina Anghel, Fortune, 2 Aug. 2026

Definition of loading

Noun

Operators moved the structure out of the Assembly Hall and lowered it into the pit with continuous positioning controls to manage the heavy payload safely.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 30 July 2026
With a range of 2,040 nautical miles, a payload of 2,135 pounds, a top speed of 416 knots, and the ability to seat up to 10, the aircraft is suitable for all kinds of missions.

— Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 30 July 2026

Definition of payload

Noun

Lin and his team have shown that environmental cleanup and resource recovery can go hand in hand, reframing industrial brine from a toxic burden into an untapped mineral reservoir.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 Aug. 2026
Critics during the state’s legislative session framed the sales tax holiday as an election-year political move that would not sufficiently ease the burden of taxes on families in the longer term.

— Olivia Olander, Chicago Tribune, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of burden

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
As if moving his muscular deadweight weren’t a task itself for the two girls, there’s a point where Jinx falls onto Margo and pins her underwater in the tub.

— Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 13 May 2026

Definition of deadweight

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ballast

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“Ballast.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ballast. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of ballast

noun

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