ballast

IPA: bˈæɫʌst

(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.

Examples of "ballast" in Sentences

Actually, in one definition, ballast is material which will:
Update: A commenter quotes one of the definitions for ballast from the Oxford English Dictionary as: 3.
Id recommend having two bottles on hand for four people at a dinner party, then having a decent third wine in reserve, what I call ballast.
Truth be told, I could make a better public case for Ayers’s involvement by a discussion of the word ballast than I could by sharing these results.
When this happens, ETFs can provide some short-term ballast for rebalancing, such as moving cash or selling one investment to move back toward another.
From the Marquesas I sailed with sufficient absinthe in ballast to last me to Tahiti, where I outfitted with Scotch and American whisky, and thereafter there were no dry stretches between ports.
On this occasion as usual we came to the surface and we were lying there trimmed down (the main ballast roughly two-thirds full), just floating, when the signalman who was up on the bridge with me remembered he had not brought up any cigarettes.