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 First is to prevent their further migration by enforcing an international treaty obliging national authorities to treat ballast waters inside incoming ships that may carry such species. — ABC News, 30 July 2026 Those organisms arriving in the fresh or saltwater contained in a ship’s ballast tanks can displace the wildlife native to a region, while dredging, sonar, and propellers cause noise pollution. — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 30 July 2026 That way, when stocks drop, investors can rely on other asset classes to serve as a ballast. — Greg Iacurci,annie Nova, CNBC, 25 July 2026 That's the scenario in which traditional ballast stops ballasting. — Carrie McCabe, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for ballast

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ballast

Noun

Last week, an attack on a cargo ship transiting the waterway killed a crew member.

— Anniek Bao, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
State officials say keeping the Coronado Bridge physically sound is crucial to the region and the nation because the bridge’s navigational channels are used by Navy aircraft carriers and cargo ships from the National City Marine Terminal.

— David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of cargo

Noun

Yet cargo freight has been hard to electrify because long-haul trucks need hundreds of miles of range while carrying heavy loads, and charging infrastructure has not been consistent.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
Delhi Airport is India’s leading air cargo hub, moving 1 million metric tons of freight per year, according to Naidu.

— Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of freight

Noun

There’s no doubt about it that hot water serves its purpose to clean and sanitize items, but that doesn’t mean this setting should be the default for every load.

— Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 26 Aug. 2026
This outer layer absorbs physical stress directly, protecting the delicate internal materials from bending or cracking under load.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of load

Noun

And fourth, each moved fast, front-loading the painful medicine of store closures, marketplace cleanups, and resetting Wall Street expectations immediately upon taking over, rather than kicking the can down the road, letting problems fester.

— Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026
Fix the curbs and loading zones around these facilities, which the comptroller’s own data identifies as the crash problem.

— Jessica Walker, New York Daily News, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of loading

Noun

Further analysis doubtless awaits, after the semi-submersible hauler vessel — so called because its deck goes underwater beneath heavy floating payloads, then rises up with them on board — arrives in Texas.

— Mike Wall, Space.com, 27 Aug. 2026
However, this gets an all-new rear suspension with leaf springs; that setup allows for a greater payload than a typical torsion beam axle.

— Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of payload

Noun

Federal guidance for public schools expressly recognizes that a teacher may excuse a student from class to relieve a significant burden on religious exercise, giving Muslim students who need to pray during Ramadan as one example.

— Asma Uddin, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2026
Ukraine has also tried to make Russian civilians feel the burden of war by hammering major online retailers and oil facilities.

— ABC News, ABC News, 31 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 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of ballast

noun

Example Sentences

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