noun
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the act of inflating or state of being inflated
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economics a progressive increase in the general level of prices brought about by an expansion in demand or the money supply ( demand-pull inflation ) or by autonomous increases in costs ( cost-push inflation ) Compare deflation
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informal the rate of increase of prices
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inflation
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English inflacio(u)n, from Latin inflātiōn-, stem of inflātiō, equivalent to inflāt(us), past participle of inflāre “to blow on or into, puff out” + -iō -ion; see inflate
Explanation
Think of inflation as expansion, usually from being filled with air, like a balloon. This also refers to rising prices. Think of a balloon puffing up, getting fuller and fuller — that's inflation. The word has a bunch of related meanings. We can say people a little too full of themselves are suffering from inflation: they are full of hot air. When the cost of living is ballooning, that's economic inflation. When the universe was born in the big bang, there was a huge inflation, as matter spread out, creating galaxies, stars, and planets.
Vocabulary lists containing inflation
Human Geography - High School
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Ancient Rome - Introductory
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Western Europe - Introductory
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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.
Farmers and producers keep supermarket shelves stocked with eggs, milk and bread - but their costs have risen well above the rate of inflation over the last year.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
Until this year, the previous lowest level was in June 2022, when inflation was running at the highest level in decades.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026
Second, stocks could be foreseeing a future that many Americans have yet to suss out—one, say, in which the war with Iran ends, inflation eases and growth picks up.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026
“The oil shock’s effect on prices may dissipate soon, in which case raising rates may only begin to bite after inflation has started coming back down,” Waller noted.
From MarketWatch • May 23, 2026
In 1998 two physicists from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem showed that even a spinning or charged black hole—with a nice, ring-shaped singularity—will kill an astronaut, thanks to mass inflation.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
