ballast

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WOTD - 4 October 2007    
See also Ballast

Contents

[edit] English

Ballast provides a supporting bed for rail tracks

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Noun

Singular
ballast

Plural
uncountable

ballast (uncountable)

  1. (nautical) Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship (or in the gondola of a balloon), to provide stability.
  2. (figuratively) Anything that steadies emotion or the mind.
  3. Coarse gravel or similar material laid to form a bed for roads or railroads.
  4. (construction) 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.
  5. (electronics) device used for stabilizing current in an electric circuit (e.g.in a tube lamp supply circuit)

[edit] Translations

heavy material placed in the hold of a vessel
anything that steadies emotion or mind
material laid to form a bed for a road
electronics
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[edit] Verb

Infinitive
to ballast

Third person singular
ballasts

Simple past
ballasted

Past participle
ballasted

Present participle
ballasting

to ballast (third-person singular simple present ballasts, present participle ballasting, simple past and past participle ballasted)

  1. To stabilize or load a ship with ballast.
  2. To lay ballast on the bed of a railroad track.

[edit] Translations

to stabilize a ship with ballast
to lay ballast on the bed of a railway track
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