BALLASTED

Verb

ballasted

simple past tense and past participle of ballast

Anagrams

• deballast

Source: Wiktionary


BALLAST

Bal"last, n. Etym: [D. ballast; akin to Dan. baglast, ballast, OSw. barlast, Sw. ballast. The first part is perh. the same word as E. bare, adj.; the second is last a burden, and hence the meaning a bare, or mere, load. See Bare, a., and Last load.]

1. (Naut.)

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

– Ship in ballast, a ship carring only ballast.

Bal"last, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ballasted; p. pr. & vb. n. 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. Hammond.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

13 May 2025

DAZED

(adjective) in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock; “he had a dazed expression on his face”; “lay semiconscious, stunned (or stupefied) by the blow”; “was stupid from fatigue”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

There are more than 50 countries that export coffee. They are near the equator, where the climate is conducive to producing coffee beans.

coffee icon