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ballast

[bal-uhst] / ˈbæl əst /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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Pilots could vent buoyant gas, release water carried for ballast or adjust the angle of elevators on the tail, which operated like those on an airplane.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Pork or soy sausage gives the whole thing some ballast.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

The cooling kit is not mandatory, but any driver who chooses not to use it has to carry 5kg of ballast in their car to ensure they do not have a competitive advantage.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

These sacs act much like the ballast tanks of a submarine.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026

She is almost entirely in ballast of silver sand, with only a small amount of cargo—a number of great wooden boxes filled with mould.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

With no career prospects and their ballasts gone, they were adrift.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

Their strong values-based cultures, deep commitment to their communities, and longer-term investment horizons, act like ballasts on a ship — working together to absorb shocks and navigate through treacherous waters.

From Salon ● Dec. 31, 2024

Emotional Support Water Bottles can serve as psychological ballasts.

From Slate ● Jan. 18, 2024

“Removing those PCB ballasts is something the state should be doing,” she said, adding that replacing outdated fixtures with energy-efficient lights saved other schools money.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 23, 2022

Pattie then snapped off the bright fluorescent ballasts.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

The savings would be delivered through lower design speeds, ballasted track, UK rather than European standard cross-sections and building on the existing rail network.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2024

Her sturdy presence ballasted unconventional work and gave substance to the eccentric roles she was drawn to, though like Gambon she could adapt to any theatrical circumstances.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2023

Intellectual curiosity, emotional complexity, lingering questions about spirituality and unadulterated whimsy ballasted the world of Charlie Brown and his gang.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2023

It weighs 20,000 pounds in the air, but is ballasted to be neutrally buoyant once it reaches the seafloor, the company said.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 20, 2023

He drove long strands of willow in all the seams to keep out waves, and ballasted with logs.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

“Loadings will continue until the ballasting tankers are all used up, as Middle East producers simply don’t have a lot of onshore storage where to put the crude.”

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 4, 2026

Unbalanced because of inefficient ballasting and overcrowded too, the Joola was in no state to survive the heavy storm that hit it just off the coast of The Gambia and after capsizing, it soon sank.

From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2022

Owners are mostly decelerating on the so-called ballasting leg of journeys, when they’re sailing empty, said Martin Korsvold, a Pareto analyst.

From BusinessWeek ● Mar. 9, 2011

Legion officers scouted the idea, pointed out that wives, children, fathers, mothers and other relatives of Legionnaires will accompany them with ballasting effect.

From Time Magazine Archive

Speedy construction was considered of the first importance and then the ballasting could be done much cheaper after the track was down.

From The Story of the First Trans-Continental Railroad Its Projectors, Construction and History by W. F. Bailey




Vocabulary lists containing ballast


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