ballast

n.

1. Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship or the gondola of a balloon to enhance stability.
2. 1. Coarse gravel or crushed rock laid to form a bed for roads or railroads.
   2. The gravel ingredient of concrete.
3. Something that gives stability, especially in character.

tr.v., -last·ed, -last·ing, -lasts.

1. To stabilize or provide with ballast.
2. To fill (a railroad bed) with or as if with ballast.

[Perhaps from Old Swedish or Old Danish barlast : bar, mere, bare + last, load.]

n. 1. heavy material, such as gravel, sand, iron, or lead, placed low in a vessel to improve its stability.

2. a substance of this type carried in an airship or on a hot-air balloon to stabilize it, and jettisoned when greater altitude is required.

v. (usually be ballasted)

give stability to (a ship) by putting a heavy substance in its bilge: the vessel has been ballasted to give the necessary floating stability.

in ballast (of a ship) laden only with ballast.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

1. Coarse stone, gravel, slag, etc., used as an underlayer for poured concrete.
2. A device used to provide the required starting voltage and operating current for fluorescent, mercury, or other electric-discharge lamps.
3. Class P: A ballast for a fluorescent lamp which meets the requirements of the Underwriters’ Laboratories, Inc.; includes an automatic resetting thermal protector to remove the ballast from the circuit if its temperature exceeds a specified value. 4. Same as constant-wattage ballast.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - ballast, stabiliserende element
v. tr. - forsyne med ballast

Nederlands (Dutch)
ballast, ballasten, evenwicht geven

Français (French)
n. - (Aviat, Naut) lest, pierraille, (Rail) ballast
v. tr. - (Aviat, Naut) lester, (Tech) empierrer, caillouter, (Rail) ballaster

Deutsch (German)
n. - (Seew.) Ballast, Sicherheit, (Eisenb.) Schotter
v. - (Seew.) mit Ballast beladen, einer Person Sicherheit geben

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - έρμα, σαβούρα, χοντρό αμμοχάλικο (ως υπόστρωμα σιδηροτροχιών), σταθερότητα χαρακτήρα

Italiano (Italian)
zavorra

Português (Portuguese)
n. - lastro (m)

Русский (Russian)
балласт

Español (Spanish)
n. - lastre, balasto
v. tr. - colocar lastre, colocar balasto

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - barlast

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
压载物, 压舱物, 给...装压舱物, 给...铺道渣, 使稳定

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 壓載物, 壓艙物
v. tr. - 給...裝壓艙物, 給...鋪道渣, 使穩定

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 자갈, 모래 주머니
v. tr. - 배에 바닥짐을 싣다, 자갈을 깔다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - バラスト, バラス, 底荷, 砂利
v. - バラストを積む, バラスを敷く

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ثقل الموازنه, حصى للطرق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮זבורית, משא לייצוב הספינה, יציבות, חצץ‬
v. tr. - ‮מילא בזבורית‬

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Fluorescent Light Ballast