BALLAST • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Ballast

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/bˈæləst/ Listen

noun

Ballast n.

1.

(Naut.) Any heavy substance, as stone, iron, etc., put into the hold to sink a vessel in the water to such a depth as to prevent capsizing.

2.

Any heavy matter put into the car of a balloon to give it steadiness.

3.

Gravel, broken stone, etc., laid in the bed of a railroad to make it firm and solid.

4.

The larger solids, as broken stone or gravel, used in making concrete.

5.

Fig.: That which gives, or helps to maintain, uprightness, steadiness, and security. "It (piety) is the right ballast of prosperity."

Ballast engine, a steam engine used in excavating and for digging and raising stones and gravel for ballast.

Ship in ballast, a ship carrying only ballast.

verb

Ballast v. t. (past & past part. ballasted; pres. part. ballasting)

1.

To steady, as a vessel, by putting heavy substances in the hold.

2.

To fill in, as the bed of a railroad, with gravel, stone, etc., in order to make it firm and solid.

3.

To keep steady; to steady, morally. "'T is charity must ballast the heart."

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Etymology of 'Ballast'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Ballast" Quotes from Famous Books

... we shall be long after our neighbour," the other remarked, a little drily. Then, as if he might have said too much, he added hastily, "We slavers carry little else, you know, than our shackles and a few extra tierces of rice; the rest of our ballast is made up of these guns, and the ...

— The Red Rover • James Fenimore Cooper

... was my last in this beautiful isle, as I was obliged to embark on the next day, the 17th of May. The cargo was cleared, and the ballast taken on board. All articles to which the French troops are accustomed, such as flour, salted meat, potatoes, pulse, wine, and a variety of others, have to be ...

— A Woman's Journey Round the World • Ida Pfeiffer

... London. The iron railing which surrounds this enclosure is as high and as handsome as that of the Tuilleries, and it will give some idea of the care bestowed on its decoration, to know that the gravel for the walks was conveyed by barges from Boston, not as ballast, but as freight. ...

— Domestic Manners of the Americans • Fanny Trollope

... water. Boarding her with the intention of pressing her men, he found her deserted save for the master, and thinking that some of the hands might be in hiding below—where the master assured him he would find nothing but ballast—he "did order one of his Boat's crew to goe down in the Hold and see what was therein"; who presently returned and reported "a quantity of wool conceal'd under some Coales a foot thik." The exportation of wool ...

— The Press-Gang Afloat and Ashore • John R. Hutchinson

... so light from scant feeding that he cannot fly against the wind. If he would go back to his starting point while the March winds are out, he must needs come down close to the ground and yewyaw towards his objective, making leeway like an old boat without ballast or centerboard. ...

— Secret of the Woods • William J. Long

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