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ballast
Definitions
[ˈbaləst], (Noun)
Definitions:
- heavy material, such as gravel, sand, or iron, placed in the bilge of a ship to ensure its stability
(e.g: the hull had insufficient ballast)
- gravel or coarse stone used to form the bed of a railway track or the substratum of a road
(e.g: a thick layer of railway ballast)
- a passive component used in an electric circuit to moderate changes in current
(e.g: ballasts are permanently wired into existing fixtures)
Phrases:
- in ballast
Origin
:
mid 16th century: probably of Low German or Scandinavian origin
[ˈbaləst], (Verb)
Definitions:
- give stability to (a ship) by putting a heavy substance in its bilge
(e.g: the vessel has been ballasted to give the necessary floating stability)
- form (the bed of a railway line or the substratum of a road) with gravel or coarse stone
(e.g: the track was laid with rails and ballasted with earth)
Phrases:
- in ballast
Origin
:
mid 16th century: probably of Low German or Scandinavian origin
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definition by Oxford Dictionaries