balloon

[buh-loon]

noun

1. a bag made of thin rubber or other light material, usually brightly colored, inflated with air or with some lighter-than-air gas and used as a children's plaything or as a decoration.

2. a bag made of a light material, as silk or plastic, filled with heated air or a gas lighter than air, designed to rise and float in the atmosphere and often having a car or gondola attached below for carrying passengers or scientific instruments.

3. (in drawings, cartoons, etc.) a balloon-shaped outline enclosing words represented as issuing from the mouth of the speaker.

4. an ornamental ball at the top of a pillar, pier, or the like.

5. a large, globular wineglass.

6. Chemistry Now Rare.,  a round-bottomed flask.

verb (used without object)

1. to go up or ride in a balloon.

2. to swell or puff out like a balloon.

3. to multiply or increase at a rapid rate.

   Membership has ballooned beyond all expectations.

verb (used with object)

1. to fill with air; inflate or distend (something) like a balloon.

adjective

1. puffed out like a balloon.

   balloon sleeves.

2. Finance.,  (of a loan, mortgage, or the like) having a payment at the end of the term that is much bigger than previous ones.

balloon

/ bəˈluːn /

noun

1. an inflatable rubber bag of various sizes, shapes, and colours: usually used as a plaything or party decoration

2. a large impermeable bag inflated with a lighter-than-air gas, designed to rise and float in the atmosphere. It may have a basket or gondola for carrying passengers, etc See also barrage balloon hot-air balloon

3. a circular or elliptical figure containing the words or thoughts of a character in a cartoon

4. 1. a kick or stroke that propels a ball high into the air

   2. ( as modifier )

      a balloon shot

5. chem a round-bottomed flask

6. a large rounded brandy glass

7. commerce

   1. a large sum paid as an irregular instalment of a loan repayment

   2. ( as modifier )

      a balloon loan

8. surgery

   1. an inflatable plastic tube used for dilating obstructed blood vessels or parts of the alimentary canal

   2. ( as modifier )

      balloon angioplasty

9. informal,  to be completely unsuccessful or unpopular

10. informal,  when the trouble or action begins

verb

1. (intr) to go up or fly in a balloon

2. (intr) to increase or expand significantly and rapidly

   losses ballooned to £278 million

3. to inflate or be inflated; distend; swell

   the wind ballooned the sails

4. (tr) to propel (a ball) high into the air

Other Word Forms

• balloonlike adjective
• ballooning noun
• balloon-like adjective
• balloonist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of balloon¹

1570–80; < Upper Italian ballone, equivalent to ball ( a ) (< Langobardic; ball ¹ ) + -one augmentative suffix; or < Middle French ballon < Upper Italian

Word History and Origins

Origin of balloon¹

C16 (in the sense: ball, ball game): from Italian dialect ballone , from balla , of Germanic origin; compare Old High German balla _ball ¹

Idioms and Phrases

• go over (like a lead balloon)
• trial balloon

Example Sentences

The Powerball jackpot has ballooned to $1.7 billion, the third highest in history, after no one won the latest drawing Wednesday night.

From Los Angeles Times

After a long display of cutting-edge weaponry, including nuclear missiles, the parade concluded with thousands of doves and balloons released into the skies over Beijing.

From BBC

Thousands of doves and balloons were later released into the skies above Tiananmen Square to mark the end of the parade.

From BBC

The parade finished on a crowd-pleasing fly past before thousands of doves and balloons were released into the skies over the capital.

From BBC

Most of the state laws were passed since 2023, the same year that a Chinese spy balloon flew across North American airspace, in an incident that marked a new low for US-China ties.

From BBC

Related Words

• enlarge 
• expand 
• inflate 
• swell