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# ballast

noun (ballast, uncountable); verb (ballast, ballasts, ballasted, ballasting — rare)

«ballast» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Heavy material, such as stones, sand or water, put low in a ship or balloon to keep it steady. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/ballast/#m1)
2. The stones laid under railway tracks to hold them in place. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/ballast/#m2)
3. Something that gives steadiness or balance to a person or plan. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/ballast/#m3)

### In the lessons

In science lessons about floating and balance, ballast shows how weight low down keeps a boat upright and how submarines take in water to sink. Hot-air balloons drop sandbags of ballast to rise. Railway workers lay ballast under tracks. Phrases: "ballast tanks", "drop ballast", "take on ballast".

### Examples

- The ship carried rocks as ballast to stop it rolling over. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/ballast/#x1)
- The submarine filled its ballast tanks with water to dive. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/ballast/#x2)
- The balloonist threw out a bag of sand ballast and the balloon rose. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/ballast/#x3)
- Grey ballast stones lie under the railway sleepers. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/ballast/#x4)
- We added coins to the bottom of our model boat as ballast. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/ballast/#x5)
- Weight low down acts as ballast and keeps the boat steady. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/ballast/#x6)

### Note

Usually uncountable: "some ballast". Throwing out ballast makes a balloon lighter so it rises; taking on ballast makes a ship or submarine heavier so it sits lower. Do not confuse with "ballet" or "balance".

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «ballast» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/ballast/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«ballast» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/ballast.html) on Mova free.