Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Keeping them upright requires a balancing act that involves distributing the weight of a ship's cargo and fuel as well as water in its ballast tanks, which fill to add weight and help lower a vessel's center of gravity. Russ Bynum, Star Tribune, "Why did ship overturn off Georgia? Hearings may give answers," 11 Sep. 2020

In the novels, especially, one encounters a noirish collision between character and plot, with ballast provided by the writer’s urge to describe the reality. Siddhartha Deb, The New Republic, "Héctor Tobar’s Radical Road Trip Novel," 25 Aug. 2020

Rougerie changed the course by designing a structure with a variable ballast that allows suspended anchoring at different depths (from 30 to 200 feet) and with no impact on the underwater ecosystem. Elissaveta M. Brandon, Smithsonian Magazine, "Jacques Cousteau’s Grandson Wants to Build the International Space Station of the Sea," 24 Aug. 2020

Jimmy's ballast, his up-until-now better half — one of the show's final focuses will be on his sometimes literal partner in crime. Dan Snierson, EW.com, "Better Call Saul boss teases the big questions of the final season," 11 Aug. 2020

The Pentagon could draw from the experience of cocaine smugglers by building low-riding ships that use ballast tanks to lower their profile even further. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The Marines Could Steal a Page From Cocaine Smugglers," 22 July 2020

In warm layup, most systems are kept functioning; in cold layup more are shut down, such as ballast tanks, turbines, and gear boxes. Fran Golden, Fortune, "The perfect storm: What do you do with cruise ships that cannot set sail?," 11 July 2020

Quality companies in times like these provide a ballast in turbulent waters. Nancy Tengler, USA TODAY, "As the economy makes a recovery, here are 4 tips for investing," 15 June 2020

Mitten crabs likely transported in ships’ ballast water or possibly intentionally released to create a local source for seafood markets are beginning to get a claw-hold in U.S. bays and rivers. Rene Ebersole, National Geographic, "In ‘Operation Hidden Mitten,’ U.S. cracks down on smuggling of hairy-clawed crab," 22 May 2020

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The species, which grows to 6 feet long and weighs up to 220 pounds, was prized for its swim bladder, or maw, an organ that helps ballast the animal. Adam Elder, Wired, "How a Pudgy Porpoise May Save Other Animals From Extinction," 16 Apr. 2020

Amid that debate, the role of the editorial board is to provide Times readers with a long-range view formed not by one person’s expertise and experience but ballasted by certain institutional values that have evolved across more than 150 years. New York Times, "What Is an Editorial Board?," 13 Jan. 2020

Some of that freshness comes from the cast, a cornucopia of effervescent young talent ballasted by a handful of doughty old-timers. New York Times, "‘Little Women’ Review: This Movie Is Big," 23 Dec. 2019

Gillis said the new bridge will be ballasted, rather than fixed. Mary Wisniewski, chicagotribune.com, "Metra awarded $17.8 million in federal funds to rebuild Irving Park rail bridge," 21 Aug. 2019

Green Bay’s unbalanced and condensed formations, presnap motions, first-down play-actions and intertwined route combinations play to Rodger’s sharp football IQ, ballasting his reads and timing. Andy Benoit, SI.com, "Aaron Rodgers, Packers’ Offense Primed to Thrive Under New Head Coach Matt LaFleur," 23 July 2019

Roughly a third of the structure is submerged and ballasted by 5,000 tons of iron ore. Michael J. Coren, Quartz, "Floating wind farms just became a serious business," 22 June 2019

The subs are built from a variety of materials, but primarily plastics, carbon fiber, and other composites, with a few metal components and some weights to ballast the vessel. Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, "The Preposterous World of Human-Powered Submarine Racing," 9 Aug. 2017

Seawater ballasts help with stability and the horizontal surface is layered in solar panels and antennas. Bill Monroe, OregonLive.com, "Oregon tag holders asked/required to report hunting, fishing results," 11 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ballast.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.