ballast

/ˈbæl.əst/

//ˈbæl.əst// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"ballast" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ballast” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,471. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,471
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship (or in the gondola of a balloon), to provide stability.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ballast · ballast · English

ballast · rank #23,471 · 9 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,471
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Balfour

Nearest frequency peer: Balfour (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “ballast”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “ballast” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ballast vs balls
71% similar
ballast vs blast
71% similar
ballast vs ballot
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ballast
PropertyValue
Headwordballast
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbæl.əst/
Letters7
Frequency rank#23,471
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ballast”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).ballastlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Balfour” (#23,469), “Bigfoot” (#23,473), “bailout” (#23,468). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “ballast” is #23,471. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around ballast (IPA /ˈbæl.əst/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,471 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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

  1. 1
    Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship (or in the gondola of a balloon), to provide stability.
  2. 2
    Anything that steadies emotion or the mind.
  3. 3
    Coarse gravel or similar material laid to form a bed for roads or railroads, or in making concrete; track ballast.
  4. 4
    A 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.
  5. 5
    A 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.
  6. 6
    device used for stabilizing current in an electric circuit (e.g. in a tube lamp supply circuit)
  7. 7
    That which gives, or helps to maintain, uprightness, steadiness, and security.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ballast appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. “Oh, for the-- how much did you waste on that little boondoggle?” “Well, it's not that so much as--” “Krieger.” “Well, I needed ballast, and what better to simulate bricks of cocaine than, you know, bricks of cocaine.”
  2. With 73 minutes gone Rafael Márquez came on to add ballast at the back, appearing in his fifth World Cup aged 39 and with alleged links to drug trafficking, which he denies, on hold for now. And so they sat deep with a thin green line of five defenders ranged across their own penalty area as the game became a Mexican stand-off, attack versus defence.

Etymology

From Middle English bar (“bare”) + last (“load”).

This word in other languages

lastre(Español)lest(Français)Ballast(Deutsch)lastro(Português)

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.

abllast2balalst2balast1ballasst1ballastt1ballats2ballsat2bballast1
Edit distance from "ballast"

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

How do you spell "ballast"?
"ballast" is spelled B-A-L-L-A-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbæl.əst/.
What does "ballast" mean?
As a noun, "ballast" means: Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship (or in the gondola of a balloon), to provide stability.
What words are commonly confused with "ballast"?
"ballast" is commonly confused with "balls", "blast", "ballot". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ballast"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ballast" is /ˈbæl.əst/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "ballast"?
From Middle English bar (“bare”) + last (“load”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ballast", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Balfour#23,469Bigfoot#23,473bailout#23,468biotech#23,474

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Colton9 variantsCortez9 variantsweakly9 variantsdynamo9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list