Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
water ballast en · NOUN
Meanings
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(uncountable) A weight in the form of seawater that can be let or pumped into a ballast tank within a vessel when required.
Thanks to the previous experience of the chief performers, to careful preparation and rehearsal, and to perfect weather conditions, they watched in breath-bated silence the spectacle of the huge bulk moving without a hitch into position over the temporary pier caps on which it settled as water ballast was admitted to the pontoons.
1959 May 14, L. T. C. Rolt, “Centenary of the Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash”, in Railway Magazine, page 310: