ballast
To stabilize or load a ship with ballastTo stabilize or load a ship with ballast.
» Invasive species can be introduced to an area by ship ballast water, accidental release, and most often, by people.
Hybrid · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
3 senses(transitive)To stabilize or load a ship with ballast.
make steady with a ballast
(transitive)To lay ballast on the bed of a railroad track.
beschottern
(transitive)To weigh down with a ballast.
Examples
2 sentencesInvasive species can be introduced to an area by ship ballast water, accidental release, and most often, by people.
Scientists say the invasive species arrived in the Mediterranean from Asia in the ballast of cargo ships, creating an “environmental nightmare.”
Translations
4 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English bar (“bare”) + last (“load”).From Middle English bar (“bare”) + last (“load”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
ballasts, ballasting, ballasted, ballastedWord family
3 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.