noun
adjective
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Nouns
Etymology
Origin of inflatable
Explanation
Something inflatable can be blown up or filled with air. A balloon is inflatable — you can either blow it up, or fill it with helium so that it floats. Car tires are inflatable, and so are beach balls, bicycle inner tubes, floating pool toys, bouncy castles, air mattresses, and some lightweight boats. If you're in a car accident, the inflatable air bag will fill quickly to protect you from hitting the dashboard. The adjective inflatable comes from the Latin inflare, "to blow into or puff up."
Vocabulary lists containing inflatable
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.
"It's too early to tell," he said, clutching an inflatable palm tree as students prepared for the Stanford graduation tradition known as the "Wacky Walk".
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026
He’ll probably put an inflatable bouncy castle in the Capitol building, and I’m actually perfectly fine with that.
From Slate • Jun. 18, 2026
Among the most enthusiastic marchers are Tury Sandoval and Sam Borkson, partners in FriendsWithYou, the Los Angeles-based collective known for giant inflatable characters.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2026
What I can tell you for sure is that on Thursday, it will also have a 20-foot inflatable World Cup.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
They managed to detach an inflatable lifeboat before their ship sank, and were crawling into it when the Germans returned.
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.
