balloon

[ buh-loon ]

/ bəˈlun /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR balloon ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

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.

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

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

a large, globular wineglass.

Chemistry Now Rare. a round-bottomed flask.

verb (used without object)

to go up or ride in a balloon.

to swell or puff out like a balloon.

to multiply or increase at a rapid rate: Membership has ballooned beyond all expectations.

verb (used with object)

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

adjective

puffed out like a balloon: balloon sleeves.

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

Nearby words

ballocks, ballon, ballon d'essai, ballonet, ballonné, balloon, balloon angioplasty, balloon barrage, balloon chuck, balloon clock, balloon frame

Origin of balloon

1570–80; < Upper Italian ballone, equivalent to ball(a) (< Langobardic; see ball¹) + -one augmentative suffix; or < Middle French ballon < Upper Italian

Related forms

bal·loon·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for balloon

Manned, unmanned, a balloon, a kite—you still have to get the information into the hands of the firefighters.
Fighting Wildfire With Satellites, Lasers, and Drones|Elizabeth Lopatto|July 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A balloon popped and the sound was enough like a gunshot to make everybody jump.
What if the Founding Fathers Saw Newtown?|Michael Daly|December 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But soon before he could get to work, he lost control of the balloon he had designed and built himself.
This Week’s Hot Reads: Dec. 2, 2013|Mythili Rao and Thomas Flynn, Mythili Rao, Thomas Flynn|December 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Taking your cues from Koons is like singing inside a balloon.
From Lady Gaga To Jay-Z, “Serious” Art Is Ruining Pop Music|James Poulos|November 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Eyebrows Cressida: Imagine eyebrows drawn on a balloon with a blackened cork.
Cressida Bonas vs. Cara Delevingne: A Differentiation Guide to Two Celebrity English Roses|Tom Sykes|June 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Further, there is provided means for admitting air at will into the balloon, by which the necessity for much ballast is obviated.
The Dominion of the Air|J. M. Bacon
First crossing of the English Channel in a balloon—Blanchard, 1785.
The Story of Great Inventions|Elmer Ellsworth Burns
Nothing remained to hinder the balloon from ascending but the hands and weight of those who were holding on to it with ropes.
Erewhon|Samuel Butler
We got another glimpse of the balloon to cheer us, and were also edified in the course of the day with news of the Belmont battle.
The Siege of Kimberley|T. Phelan
"Yes, the basket goes up with the balloon," said Mrs. Bobbsey.
The Bobbsey Twins at the County Fair|Laura Lee Hope

British Dictionary definitions for balloon

balloon

/ (bəˈluːn) /

noun

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

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, etcSee also barrage balloon, hot-air balloon

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

British

a kick or stroke that propels a ball high into the air
(as modifier)a balloon shot

chem a round-bottomed flask

a large rounded brandy glass

commerce

a large sum paid as an irregular instalment of a loan repayment
(as modifier)a balloon loan

surgery

an inflatable plastic tube used for dilating obstructed blood vessels or parts of the alimentary canal
(as modifier)balloon angioplasty

go down like a lead balloon informal to be completely unsuccessful or unpopular

when the balloon goes up informal when the trouble or action begins

verb

(intr) to go up or fly in a balloon

(intr) to increase or expand significantly and rapidlylosses ballooned to £278 million

to inflate or be inflated; distend; swellthe wind ballooned the sails

(tr) British to propel (a ball) high into the air

Derived Forms

ballooning, nounballoonist, nounballoon-like, adjective

Word Origin for balloon

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for balloon

balloon

[ bə-lōōn′ ]

n.

An inflatable spherical device that is inserted into a body cavity or structure and distended with air or gas for therapeutic purposes.

Idioms and Phrases with balloon

balloon

In addition to the idiom beginning with balloon

balloon goes up, the

also see:

go over (like a lead balloon)
trial balloon