Synonyms of ballast

ballast

noun

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.

Related Words

• cargo
• freight
• load
• loading
• payload
• lading
• burden
• deadweight
• draft
• weight
• haul
• overload
• consignment
• carload
• shipment
• bale
• truckload
• package
• surcharge
• wagonload
• shipload
• boatload
• trainload
• bulk
• packet
• bundle
• pack
• parcel
• manifest
• body
• mass

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of ballast

That's the scenario in which traditional ballast stops ballasting. — Carrie McCabe, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026

Some shouted out cult classics like Possession (1981), in which Neill provided the ballast that allowed his co-star Isabelle Adjani the chance to dive headfirst into the deep end, or the Hitchcock thriller on a boat Dead Calm (1989). — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 July 2026

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