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 No 'immediate' return to 60/40 In addition to income, bonds may also provide ballast in broader portfolio. — Michelle Fox, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2026 That means multiple family members can drive the same kart, and if there’s a minimum weight requirement in your class, there’s space for 33 pounds (15 kilograms) of ballast. — Caleb Jacobs, The Drive, 10 Sep. 2026 Moss-Bachrach, grizzled and heartbreaking as the father, gives the film its ballast. — Clayton Davis, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026 The arrival of Stan Kroenke, whose sports empire includes the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and Premier League’s Arsenal, among others, brings with it ballast. — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ballast

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ballast

Noun

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that its forces carried out drone strikes on logistics centers, port infrastructure and three cargo ships in the port of Reni in the Odesa region.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026
Many participate in the miraculous art of flying and maintaining enormous airplanes, or picking up cargo to take across our greater multi-county region of millions.

— Daniel Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of cargo

Noun

Record-high diesel prices pushed freight off the highway and onto the railroads in the third quarter, lifting CSX, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern to record revenue.

— Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2026
Commercial, defense-ready Natilus is developing KONA for the commercial regional freight market while pursuing potential military applications.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of freight

Noun

In some cases, data centers can operate as flexible loads, adjusting their electricity use to help stabilize the grid.

— April Roach, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026
At the same time, reducing the amount of energy entering the system eases the load on mitochondria and reduces oxidative stress.

— Rowan Jacobsen, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of load

Noun

Protesters blocked the loading and unloading of fresh food and other goods at supermarket distribution warehouses near Naples on Monday, Sky TG24 reported.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
At the loading dock, deliveries arrived in trucks lined up in a queue that had been planned a year in advance.

— Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of loading

Noun

As case counts surged in the initial months of the outbreak, population and demographic data revealed who was shouldering the greatest burdens.

— Julie Morita, Time, 25 Oct. 2026
These were expensive and life-changing burdens, even for those who avoided trial and conviction.

— Barton Gellman, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of burden

Noun

By upgrading synthetic skin from a passive sensor into an energy harvester, the Fudan team offers a clever alternative to deadweight batteries.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 8 Oct. 2026
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

Definition of deadweight

Browse Nearby Words

ballads

ballast

ballasts

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Style

“Ballast.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ballast. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of ballast

noun

Example Sentences

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