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lester

to ballast

verb les-TEH Rare
Travel & Places Transportation

Also means

to weigh down

Usage Note

Lester means to add ballast to a vessel or object to stabilize it, and figuratively to weigh something or someone down. Lester un navire means 'to ballast a ship'. In informal French, être lesté can mean 'to have eaten a good meal' (i.e., to be well-weighted). Related noun: le lest (ballast).

Examples

"Il fallait lester le bateau avant le départ."

Natural Translation

The boat needed to be ballasted before departure.

Literal Translation

It was necessary to ballast the boat before the departure.

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