balloon
Americannoun
-
balloons
plural
-
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)
-
balloons,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ballooned,
past participle, past
-
ballooning
present participle
-
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)
-
balloons,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ballooned,
past participle, past
-
ballooning
present participle
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.
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, etc See also barrage balloon hot-air balloon
-
a circular or elliptical figure containing the words or thoughts of a character in a cartoon
-
-
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
-
-
informal to be completely unsuccessful or unpopular
-
informal when the trouble or action begins
verb
-
(intr) to go up or fly in a balloon
-
(intr) to increase or expand significantly and rapidly
losses ballooned to £278 million
-
to inflate or be inflated; distend; swell
the wind ballooned the sails
-
(tr) to propel (a ball) high into the air
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
balloonsimple
-
balloonssimple
-
have balloonedperfect
-
has balloonedperfect
-
am ballooningprogressive
-
are ballooningprogressive
-
is ballooningprogressive
-
have been ballooningperfect progressive
-
has been ballooningperfect progressive
Past
-
balloonedsimple
-
had balloonedperfect
-
was ballooningprogressive
-
were ballooningprogressive
-
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:
In that same spirit of excess, there’s an extra scene in the end credits that goes over like a lead balloon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Scientists in London have invented what they claim is the world's first fully biodegradable party balloon.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The same issues caused its losses to balloon in the first quarter as well.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
The participants next completed a risk-taking game involving a virtual balloon.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
“Yes, and he may have seen the first balloon rising from the forest. Or perhaps he was just lucky,” Pater Lumley went on.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Even balloons that are labelled as 100% biodegradable often never fully break down, unlike Bioloon, Melia claimed.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Researchers at Imperial College London say standard balloons can take years to break down and can release harmful chemicals.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 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
A memorial grew at the crash site, with friends and family members placing votive candles, balloons and flowers, according to footage published by OnSceneTV.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
It was one of those cheap plastic ones that can deflate like balloons.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
The following year, that number ballooned to 18, with 14 in Los Angeles County.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Cruise giants watched revenues collapse as debt loads ballooned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
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
His knickers ballooned and his shrieks of frightened joy startled the birds and the fat grasshoppers.
From "Sula" by Toni Morrison
Created by Exclusive Ballooning in partnership with Aardman, it combines two of the city's best-known exports - animation and ballooning.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Some admissions advisers say cutting supplemental essays will only add to the ballooning ranks of students who get deferred and wait-listed as young people apply to more colleges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 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
When winter arrived, I pulled Mother’s dress in worry each time lightning belted the ballooning clouds, spilling rain on the fields.
From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat
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.
