ballast
/ˈbæl.əst/
"ballast" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ballast” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #23,471 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #23,471
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 8
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship (or in the gondola of a balloon), to provide stability.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ballast |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbæl.əst/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #23,471 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 8 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ballast” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ballast is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbæl.əst/. Corpus data places it at rank #23,471 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for ballast, with forms such as "abllast", "balalst", and "balast". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "balls", "blast", "ballot", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bar (“bare”) + last (“load”). The correct English form is ballast, spelled B-A-L-L-A-S-T.
Definition
- 1Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship (or in the gondola of a balloon), to provide stability.
- 2Anything that steadies emotion or the mind.
- 3Coarse gravel or similar material laid to form a bed for roads or railroads, or in making concrete; track ballast.
- 4A 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.
- 5A 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.
- 6device used for stabilizing current in an electric circuit (e.g. in a tube lamp supply circuit)
- 7That which gives, or helps to maintain, uprightness, steadiness, and security.
Etymology
From Middle English bar (“bare”) + last (“load”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: abllast,balalst,balast,ballasst,ballastt,ballats,ballsat,bballast,blalast
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ballast - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “ballast”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-A-L-L-A-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbæl.əst/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “balls” - see the side-by-side comparison. ballast vs balls
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.