balloon
Americannoun
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balloons
plural
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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.
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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.
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(in drawings, cartoons, etc.) a balloon-shaped outline enclosing words represented as issuing from the mouth of the speaker.
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an ornamental ball at the top of a pillar, pier, or the like.
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a large, globular wineglass.
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Chemistry Now Rare. a round-bottomed flask.
verb (used without object)
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balloons,
present (3rd person singular)
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ballooned,
past participle, past
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ballooning
present participle
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to go up or ride in a balloon.
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to swell or puff out like a balloon.
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to multiply or increase at a rapid rate.
Membership has ballooned beyond all expectations.
verb (used with object)
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balloons,
present (3rd person singular)
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ballooned,
past participle, past
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ballooning
present participle
adjective
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puffed out like a balloon.
balloon sleeves.
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Finance. (of a loan, mortgage, or the like) having a payment at the end of the term that is much bigger than previous ones.
noun
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an inflatable rubber bag of various sizes, shapes, and colours: usually used as a plaything or party decoration
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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
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a circular or elliptical figure containing the words or thoughts of a character in a cartoon
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a kick or stroke that propels a ball high into the air
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( as modifier )
a balloon shot
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chem a round-bottomed flask
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a large rounded brandy glass
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commerce
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a large sum paid as an irregular instalment of a loan repayment
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( as modifier )
a balloon loan
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surgery
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an inflatable plastic tube used for dilating obstructed blood vessels or parts of the alimentary canal
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( as modifier )
balloon angioplasty
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informal to be completely unsuccessful or unpopular
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informal when the trouble or action begins
verb
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(intr) to go up or fly in a balloon
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(intr) to increase or expand significantly and rapidly
losses ballooned to £278 million
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to inflate or be inflated; distend; swell
the wind ballooned the sails
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(tr) to propel (a ball) high into the air
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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balloonsimple
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balloonssimple
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have balloonedperfect
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has balloonedperfect
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am ballooningprogressive
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are ballooningprogressive
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is ballooningprogressive
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have been ballooningperfect progressive
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has been ballooningperfect progressive
Past
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balloonedsimple
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had balloonedperfect
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was ballooningprogressive
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were ballooningprogressive
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had been ballooningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of balloon
1570–80; < Upper Italian ballone, equivalent to ball ( a ) (< Langobardic; see ball 1) + -one augmentative suffix; or < Middle French ballon < Upper Italian
Explanation
A balloon is a colorful bit of rubber that can be blown up or filled with helium. Many children's parties are decorated with balloons. While most balloons are round, they come in many sizes and shapes. Balloon artists twist long, thin balloons together to form animals, hats, and other items, and Mylar balloons are made from a kind of thin, metallic paper. Much larger balloons include hot air balloons and weather balloons. In the 1500s, balloon was a game played with a leather ball, from the Italian pallone, "large ball."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
During the visit, guards saw Randall try to pass a blue balloon to her son, a deputy probation officer wrote in the report.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
But their new balloon biodegrades within nine months.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Jonathan, 40, a balloon artist who runs an event business, had ducked out to a matinee of “The Odyssey.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Players could earn larger rewards by continuing to inflate the balloon, but they could lose everything from that round if it burst.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
At once the balloon stretched taut, straining at the ropes.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
"Regular balloons are treated with a process to make them strong and stretchy," said 29-year-old co-inventor Juliana Cumming, a PhD researcher at Imperial.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
A few classrooms are still standing, their brightly coloured walls decorated with painted balloons and flowers.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
A company called Bear-ier Solutions recently beefed up her wiring after a bear surprised Ziegler when she returned with balloons in hand on her 91st birthday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
She approaches the net with her son Ian Foon, 4, and readies the racket to swat away water balloons — a perfect antidote to a hot summer day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
It was one of those cheap plastic ones that can deflate like balloons.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
Germany's trade deficit with China has ballooned in recent years as exports have plunged at the same time as imports have steadily risen, hitting sectors such as machine-making, chemicals and cars.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
Vozinha's performance in that game saw his fame explode overnight, and his 50,000 Instagram followers ballooned to 17.4 million - more than athletes such as NFL legend Tom Brady.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Those petitions ballooned after the administration began limiting the ability of many immigrants to seek release through bond hearings in immigration court.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
The gap ballooned early in the Iran war as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz throttled exports of diesel and oil suitable for refining it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
My ribs might burst from all the hope that’s ballooned up behind them.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Baek and his co-workers wonder if the extra romantic interest they’re seeing is sincere or a reflection of their ballooning finances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
The giant green character, complete with distinctive blue shirt, has become one of the most-loved regulars on the UK ballooning circuit, delighting crowds wherever he lands.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Burnham has pledged fiscal discipline and to reduce the country's ballooning welfare bill, having already sought to calm markets by committing to the government's current borrowing limits.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
The industry is approaching what Cox calls “a moment of truth,” as stratospheric valuations collide with ballooning capex and slower-than-expected adoption of the technology.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
She jumped down, her skirt ballooning as she soared through the air.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
