balloon
buh-LOON
Balloon (noun) means a flexible bag that inflates with air or gas, used as a toy, decoration, or for flight. Example: “The child cried when her helium balloon floated away from the garden.”
noun
1
A flexible bag that inflates with air or gas, used as a toy, decoration, or for flight.
"The child cried when her helium balloon floated away from the garden."
"She let the balloon go and watched it drift into the clouds."
"They filled the room with red and gold balloons for the party."
2
The rounded outline enclosing a character's speech in a comic strip.
"In the last panel, a thought balloon showed what the dog was dreaming."
"Each balloon in the comic had room for only a few words."
"The artist squeezed the joke into a tiny speech balloon."
verb
1
To swell or increase rapidly in size or amount.
"If we ignore the problem now, the repair bill could balloon later."
"Her debts ballooned after she lost her job."
"The crowd ballooned from a few hundred to several thousand."
How to use balloon
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishAn inflatable object that floats or flies, or (as a verb) to grow suddenly and dramatically bigger.
Common pairings
balloon payment
costs ballooned
hot air balloon
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Word forms
- Plural
- balloons
- Third person singular
- balloons
- Past tense
- ballooned
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
The child cried when her helium _____ floated away from the garden.
Etymology
From Italian pallone, "large ball," ultimately from the same Germanic root as English "ball."
Related words
Rhymes for balloon
See all rhymes for balloon →Frequently asked questions
What does “balloon” mean?
The word “balloon” means a flexible bag that inflates with air or gas, used as a toy, decoration, or for flight. In plain terms, an inflatable object that floats or flies, or (as a verb) to grow suddenly and dramatically bigger.
How do you pronounce “balloon”?
“Balloon” is pronounced buh-LOON (/bəˈlun/ in IPA).
How do you use “balloon” in a sentence?
Here is “balloon” used in a sentence: “She let the balloon go and watched it drift into the clouds.”
What part of speech is “balloon”?
Depending on how it is used, “balloon” can be a noun and a verb.
Where does the word “balloon” come from?
The word “balloon” comes from Germanic. From Italian pallone, "large ball," ultimately from the same Germanic root as English "ball.".
Is “balloon” a common word?
“Balloon” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.
How many meanings does “balloon” have?
“Balloon” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a flexible bag that inflates with air or gas, used as a toy, decoration, or for flight.
What is the difference between a "balloon" and a "blimp"?
A balloon is a flexible bag that inflates with air or gas and generally has no engine, drifting or rising freely. A blimp is a powered, steerable airship. Both can fly, but a blimp has propulsion and steering while a balloon typically does not.
What is a "speech balloon" in a comic strip?
In comics, a balloon is the rounded outline that encloses a character's spoken words. A variant with a bumpy or cloud-like edge, sometimes called a thought balloon, is used to show what a character is thinking rather than saying.
What words commonly go with "balloon"?
Common noun collocations include "hot-air balloon," "water balloon," "balloon animal," and "party balloon." As a verb it often appears in phrases like "costs balloon" or "balloon out of control."
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