bloat

American  

[bloht] / bloʊt /

verb (used with object)

1. to expand or distend, as with air, water, etc.; cause to swell.

   Overeating bloated their bellies.

   Synonyms:

   balloon, enlarge, inflate, inflate, swell, swell

2. to puff up; make vain or conceited.

   The promotion has bloated his ego to an alarming degree.

3. to cure (fishes) as bloaters.

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verb (used without object)

1. to become swollen; be puffed out or dilated.

   The carcass started to bloat.

noun

1. Also called hoven.  Veterinary Pathology. (in cattle, sheep, and horses) a distention of the rumen or paunch or of the large colon by gases of fermentation, caused by eating ravenously of green forage, especially legumes.

2. a person or thing that is bloated.

3. bloater.

bloat British  

/ bləʊt /

verb

1. to swell or cause to swell, as with a liquid, air, or wind

2. to become or cause to be puffed up, as with conceit

3. (tr) to cure (fish, esp herring) by half-drying in smoke

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noun

1. vet science an abnormal distention of the abdomen in cattle, sheep, etc, caused by accumulation of gas in the stomach

Etymology

Origin of bloat

First recorded in 1250–1300; earlier bloat (adjective) “soft, puffy,” Middle English blout, from Old Norse blautr “wet, soft”

Example Sentences

Fleetwood, my chaperone for the voyage, heaves his bloated and blistered trotters into a pan of water.

From Literature

Europe's elite club competition is now more bloated than ever since the expansion last season to 36 teams in the Champions League proper.

From Barron's

For the moment at least, the layoff story is centered on bloat.

From The Wall Street Journal

Facebook owner Meta has also cut jobs over the past year, in a move intended to remove organizational bloat following aggressive hiring during the pandemic.

From Barron's

He also announced cuts for 300,000 personnel to trim bloat in the military.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• inflate
• swell