# balloon

Pronunciation: say "buh-LOON" US /bəˈlun/, UK /bəˈluːn/

## Noun

1. A small, thin rubber bag inflated with air or gas, used as a child's toy or a party decoration.
   - Simple: A thin rubber bag that you fill with air to play with or use at parties.
   - _A stray balloon drifted up past the apartment windows._
   - _They decorated the gym with streamers and balloons for graduation._
2. A large inflatable craft, filled with heated air or a light gas, designed to carry people or equipment through the air.
   - Simple: A huge bag filled with hot air or gas that carries people up into the sky.
   - _The balloon rose silently over the valley as the burner roared._
   - _Weather services launch balloons carrying instruments high into the atmosphere._
3. An inflatable, buoyant object, often though not necessarily round and flexible in shape.
   - Simple: A bag filled with air or gas so that it can float or rise.
   - _Salvage crews attached a balloon to the wreck to raise it from the harbor floor._
   - _Barrage balloons tethered above the city forced enemy aircraft to fly higher._
5. A speech bubble; the rounded outline in a cartoon or comic that contains a character's words.
   - Simple: The round shape in a comic that holds the words a character says.
   - _The letterer adjusted the balloon so it wouldn't cover the character's face._
   - _Translators often rewrite dialogue to fit inside the original balloons._
6. The outline drawn around words to show that they are spoken by a pictured figure.
   - Simple: The shape drawn around words in a picture to show that a person is saying them.
   - _In the engraving, a balloon issues from the senator's mouth, carrying his famous quip._
   - _Early political cartoons crowded their balloons with long, winding speeches._
9. A small inflatable sac inserted into a part of the body for therapeutic purposes, as in angioplasty.
   - Simple: A small bag that doctors put inside the body and inflate to treat a problem.
   - _During the procedure, the cardiologist inflated a balloon to widen the narrowed artery._
   - _Gastric balloons occupy space in the stomach to help patients eat less._
11. A single large payment due at the end of a loan term, much larger than the regular installments before it; synonymous with balloon payment.
   - Simple: A large final payment that ends a loan, much bigger than the normal payments before it.
   - _Their mortgage carried low monthly payments but ended with a fifty-thousand-dollar balloon._
   - _Refinancing before the balloon comes due can spare borrowers a scramble for cash._
12. A drinking glass with a wide, rounded bowl, sometimes used for serving brandy.
   - Simple: A round glass cup with a wide bowl, sometimes used for drinking brandy.
   - _He cradled the balloon in his palm to warm the cognac before the first sip._
   - _The bar serves its gin and tonics in oversized balloons packed with ice and citrus peel._
14. A small container for illicit drugs, made from a condom, the finger of a latex glove, or similar material. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A small packet of illegal drugs wrapped in a condom or the finger of a rubber glove.
   - _Customs officers detained a courier who had swallowed dozens of heroin-filled balloons._
   - _The dealer kept each dose tied off in a small balloon tucked in his cheek._
15. A bomb or shell, especially one fired into the air as part of a fireworks display.
   - Simple: A bomb or shell, like the kind shot into the sky in a fireworks show.
   - _The crew lowered each balloon carefully into its mortar before the display began._
   - _The final balloon burst into a sphere of gold sparks over the harbor._
16. A woman's breast; a coarse, jocular slang use, usually in the plural. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A rude slang word for a woman's breast.
   - _The tabloid ran a leering headline about the actress's balloons._
   - _He elbowed his friend and muttered that her right balloon had nearly escaped her top._
17. A ball or globe set on top of a pillar, church, or similar structure.
   - Simple: A ball or round shape on top of a pillar, church, or other building.
   - _A gilded balloon crowns the cathedral's central dome._
   - _Masons hoisted the carved stone balloons onto the gateposts at the end of the drive._
18. A spherical glass vessel, usually with a short neck, used to hold or receive the product of distillation.
   - Simple: A round glass container with a short neck, used in a lab to catch liquid made by boiling and cooling.
   - _The chemist set a clean balloon beneath the condenser to catch the distillate._
   - _Old engravings of laboratories show retorts feeding their vapors into waiting balloons._

## Verb

4. To increase or expand rapidly in size, amount, or extent.
   - Simple: To grow or increase very quickly in size or amount.
   - _The city's population ballooned during the oil boom._
   - _Deficits balloon when spending outpaces revenue._
7. To inflate or puff something out in the manner of a balloon.
   - Simple: To fill something with air so that it swells up.
   - _A sudden gust ballooned her skirt as she crossed the platform._
   - _Pastry chefs balloon the dough with steam to create a hollow center._
8. To ascend or travel through the air in a balloon.
   - Simple: To ride or travel through the air in a balloon.
   - _The couple ballooned over the vineyards on their anniversary._
   - _Adventurers still balloon across mountain ranges, chasing distance records._
10. To send a ball high up into the air with a kick, hit, or other stroke.
   - Simple: To kick or hit a ball so that it goes very high into the air.
   - _The striker ballooned his shot over the crossbar from six yards out._
   - _Golfers who balloon their drives into the wind lose distance._
13. To take a person or thing up in a balloon, or to lift it as if in one.
   - Simple: To take someone or something up into the air in a balloon.
   - _The company will balloon sightseers across the desert at dawn._
   - _A sudden updraft ballooned the hang glider far above the ridge._
19. Of an aircraft, to plunge alternately up and down instead of holding steady flight.
   - Simple: When a plane balloons, it keeps jumping up and down in the air instead of flying level.
   - _The trainer ballooned in the gusty crosswind, pitching up and down on final approach._
   - _Light aircraft often balloon when they cross sudden updrafts near the runway._

## Noun

20. A game played with a large inflated ball, popular in earlier centuries but no longer played. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: An old game that people played with a big ball filled with air.
   - _The courtiers shed their coats and played balloon in the palace yard until dusk._
   - _A wager on balloon cost the young squire a month's wages._

## Origin

First recorded in 1570 as the name of a game played with a large inflated leather ball, possibly via Middle French ballon, from Italian pallone ("large ball"), from palla ("ball"). This traces back through Germanic roots to Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ("to blow, swell, inflate"), and is related to Old High German ballo and German Ball ("ball").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/balloon (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).