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:
Start calling things what they are not and risks balloon, Aaron Klein writes.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Many current systems use superconducting circuits, but these are highly sensitive to electromagnetic noise and stray electrical charges - similar to the static electricity that can make hair cling to a balloon.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
The chancellor has warned against allowing Britain's benefits bill to balloon while not offering young people opportunities.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Prior to the 2008-09 recession, ARMs also came with the risk of balloon payments after the fixed-rate period expired, which left homeowners exposed to payment shocks.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
There, like a strange, giant flower blooming in the middle of the tender spring grass, was an enormous balloon.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
His rallies have featured massive US flags and giant inflatable balloons of Trump, who has not endorsed the senator, but has said he is "very closely" watching the election.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
I grab a string of balloons and wrap them around Matt, spinning him in circles on the dance floor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Banned items include balloons, kites, parachutes and paragliders.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
That meant operators could be held liable for harms they caused no matter how much effort went into making their balloons safer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
With the balloons and cheesy smiles, Coal guessed it was someone’s birthday, though he couldn’t tell whose.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
When Puerto Rico’s debt crisis ballooned into the largest governmental default in U.S. history, Congress stepped in with an unprecedented solution.
From Slate ● Oct. 12, 2026
The film eventually ballooned to six hours before Gibney began whittling it back.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
OTTAWA—Canada’s goods-trade surplus with the world ballooned to the largest in more than four years as tariff front-running drove a jump in exports to the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The note also makes the point that U.S. interest payments as a percentage of GDP are roughly 4.1% whereas in the late 90s they had ballooned to a figure approaching 5%.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
A man’s work clothes, stiff with dirt, hang oddly ballooned in the closet.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Interest costs on around $32 trillion in publicly held US debt have been ballooning in recent years, and climbing bond yields have sparked further concerns.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
More than that, the ballooning numbers of athletes and officials meant there were not enough beds for everyone.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
Roy, 34, campaigns with an aura of sunny progressive pragmatism, arguing that the city can rein in ballooning liability in part by tackling its vexing infrastructure issues.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
The new ambitions come as the Danish drugmaker has lost ground in the ballooning obesity drug market to rival Eli Lilly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 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
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