Ballast

Definitions

1. Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship (or in the gondola of a balloon), to provide stability.
   uncountable, usually
2. Anything that steadies emotion or the mind.
   figuratively, uncountable, usually
3. Coarse gravel or similar material laid to form a bed for roads or railroads, or in making concrete; track ballast.
   uncountable, usually
4. 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.
   uncountable, usually
5. device used for stabilizing current in an electric circuit (e.g. in a tube lamp supply circuit)
   countable, usually
6. That which gives, or helps to maintain, uprightness, steadiness, and security.
   figuratively, uncountable, usually

Equivalents

Examples

““Oh, for the-- how much did you waste⟳ on that little boondoggle?” “Well, it's not that so much as--” “Krieger.” “Well, I needed ballast, and what better to simulate bricks of cocaine than, you know⟳, bricks of cocaine.””

“With 73 minutes gone Rafael Márquez came on to add⟳ ballast at the back, appearing in his fifth World Cup aged 39 and with alleged links to drug trafficking, which he denies, on hold⟳ for now. And so they sat deep with a thin green line of five defenders ranged across their own⟳ penalty area as the game became a Mexican stand-off, attack versus defence.”

“It [piety] is the right ballast of prosperity.”

CEFR level