ballast
IPA: bˈæɫʌst
noun
- (nautical) Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship (or in the gondola of a balloon), to provide stability.
- (figuratively) Anything that steadies emotion or the mind.
- Coarse gravel or similar material laid to form a bed for roads or railroads, or in making concrete; track ballast.
- (construction) A material, such as aggregate or precast concrete pavers, which employs its mass and the force of gravity to hold single-ply roof membranes in place.
- (countable, electricity, electronics) device used for stabilizing current in an electric circuit (e.g. in a tube lamp supply circuit)
- (figurative) That which gives, or helps to maintain, uprightness, steadiness, and security.
verb
- To stabilize or load a ship with ballast.
- To lay ballast on the bed of a railroad track.
- To weigh down with a ballast.
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Examples of "ballast" in Sentences
- The ballast controls the current to the bulb.
- The track and ballast form the permanent way.
- Habit is the ballast that chains the dog to his vomit.
- The AC ballast was about the size of a building brick.
- In Europe, the piston tank is the ballast system of choice.
- The columns would terminate in ballast tanks below the surface.
- However, the Ballast Pond was part of the dockyard at the time.
- The keel is molded as part of the hull and the ballast is poured in.
- The second jumps into a ballast tank to escape the fiery outreach of the demon.
- The German commander ordered the ballast tanks blown and the submarine went up.
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