balloon
Americannoun
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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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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)
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:
A small star-shaped Mylar balloon was staked into the grass on the other side.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
The company anticipates spending will balloon even further in 2026 to a projected $190 billion.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
Stock and option grants often vest over years and during that time, such awards can shrink in value or balloon, based on market performance and other factors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
The same idea explains how cars move, how people row boats, and why a balloon shoots forward when air escapes from its opening.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 16, 2026
Seven felt like she was a balloon with way too much air in it and that any moment she might burst.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
Instead of the usual phalanx of cars and buses, Saturday evening traffic on Wilshire Boulevard was replaced by massive balloons, mobile sculptures, gaggles of gallerists and an endless array of elaborate costumes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
Helium-4, with one additional neutron, is the comparatively cheap version – a gas that fills children's party balloons.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
His defence has also denied the charge over the drones, arguing that operation was in response to North Korea sending balloons carrying trash across the border that year.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
They had balloons, baseball caps and a splashy video.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
The inside of the plane was decorated with balloons and campaign posters.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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
Trump’s investment accounts ballooned, too—from at least $237 million to at least $858 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
But Medi-Cal costs to cover roughly 1.4 million immigrants have ballooned, according to the latest estimates from the Department of Health Care Services.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
His initial premium was $200 a month, but after the term ended, it ballooned to more than $2,000 a month — typical for annually renewable coverage at that age.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026
The wind tugged at my baseball cap and ballooned inside my hoodie as I raced down the streets of Stokum trying to outrun my life.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
Private developers see conversions as a potential way to cut down on the ballooning costs of building from scratch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● 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
Burnham used his speech to pledge 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 ● Jun. 29, 2026
Their work suggests that a mathematical feature of space-time itself may prevent the cosmological constant from ballooning to the huge values expected from quantum physics.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026
He told her about the woman in the ballooning dress in the foyer, how he had lifted the ladder to save her.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
