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.

The program was canceled in 2024, at a point when the cost of each vessel had ballooned from $1.3 billion at the program’s outset to more than $8 billion.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 2026

By 2000 that number had ballooned to $4.1 billion, and by 2010 to over $14 billion, or nearly half of all furniture imports to the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025

What analysts had initially expected would be a roughly $55 billion program had ballooned into a $230 billion one, with projections that its cost could ultimately hit $550 billion.

From New York Times • Dec. 6, 2024

By 2004, the wild population had ballooned to 7 million.

From Salon • Nov. 28, 2024

He never forgot about treats, though now I could no longer run to greet him, for my right foot had ballooned and become purple and shiny like an eggplant.

From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat