ballast

noun bah-LAHST Rare

Origin: From Dutch or Low German 'ballast', 'bare load'.

Usage Note

Ballast in French covers the same two main senses as in English: heavy material carried in a ship's hold or a balloon to control stability, and the crushed stone layer under railway tracks. The verb derived from it, ballaster, means to lay ballast on a rail line. The word is invariable in gender and takes a regular plural ballasts.

Examples

"Le navire charge du ballast pour rester stable."

Natural Translation

The ship takes on ballast to stay stable.

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