balloon

[ buh-loon ]

/ bəˈlun /

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 formsbal·loon·like, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for balloons

Shortly thereafter, Facebook announced a similar initiative, although their plan calls for the use of drones instead of balloons.
Silicon Valley Sets Its Sights on Africa|Christian Borys|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
South Korean activists are already planning to loft them over the Demilitarized Zone in balloons.
U.S. Should Make North Korea Pay for Sony Hack|Gordon G. Chang|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As the balloons and electricity scared us, inhibitions were naturally lowered and I saw the flirtation begin.
All the Grown-Up Hipsters Playing Kids’ Games|Daniel Genis|June 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I had 17 32,000-watt balloons rigged to 100-foot rain bars, and four cameras in the rain.
‘Noah’ is a Global Warming Epic About the Battle Between Religion and Science, Says Cinematographer|Marlow Stern|March 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

We want 73 party hats, 400 balloons, a cake for 125 and any of the girls that are available in those costumes you sent up before.
Mel Brooks Is Always Funny and Often Wise in This 1975 Playboy Interview|Alex Belth|February 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is proper here to remark that the first balloons were much more elegant in appearance than those afterwards made.
Wonderful Balloon Ascents|Fulgence Marion
I zigzagged about a bit, still heading for the balloons, and when within two hundred yards opened fire.
Sixty Squadron R.A.F.|Group-Captain A. J. L. Scott
Clouds, balloons, and kites naturally supplement one another.
Sounding the Ocean of Air|A. Lawrence Rotch
If two balloons of exactly the same weight before inflation are filled, one with the comparatively heavy coal gas which weighs oz.
The Romance of Aircraft|Lawrence Yard Smith
Balloons were used again on active service in the following year, 1885, in the Soudan.
The War in the Air; Vol. 1|Walter Raleigh.

British Dictionary definitions for balloons

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 Formsballooning, 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

Word Origin and History for balloons (1 of 2)

balloon

1570s, "a game played with a large inflated leather ball," from Italian pallone "large ball," from palla "ball," from a Germanic source akin to Langobardic palla (from Proto-Germanic *ball-, from PIE *bhel- (2) "to blow, swell;" see bole) + -one, suffix indicating great size.

Perhaps also borrowed in part from French ballon (16c.), altered (after balle) from Italian pallone. It also meant the ball itself (1590s), which was batted back and forth by means of large wooden paddles strapped to the forearms. In 17c., it also meant "a type of fireworks housed in a pasteboard ball" (1630s) and "round ball used as an architectural ornament" (1650s). Acquired modern meaning after Montgolfier brothers' flights, 1783. As a child's toy, it is attested from 1848; as "outline containing words in a comic engraving" it dates from 1844. Also cf. -oon.

Word Origin and History for balloons (1 of 2)

balloon

"to go up in a balloon," 1792; "to swell, puff up," 1841, from balloon (n.). Related: Ballooned; ballooning.

Medicine definitions for balloons

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 balloons

balloon

In addition to the idiom beginning with balloon

balloon goes up, the

also see:

go over (like a lead balloon)
trial balloon

balloon

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of balloon

Examples from the Web for balloons

British Dictionary definitions for balloons

balloon

noun

verb

Word Origin for balloon

Word Origin and History for balloons (1 of 2)

balloon

Word Origin and History for balloons (1 of 2)

balloon

Medicine definitions for balloons

balloon

n.

Idioms and Phrases with balloons

balloon