# ballooning

Pronunciation: say "buh-LOO-ning" /bəˈlunɪŋ/

## Noun

1. Flying hot-air balloons as a sport or for pleasure.
   - Simple: The hobby or sport of flying in a hot-air balloon for fun.
   - _Ballooning attracts people who love quiet flight and wide open views._
   - _He gave up ballooning after the cost of fuel rose sharply._
3. The process of something swelling or expanding in size.
   - Simple: The act of swelling up or growing much bigger quite quickly.
   - _The ballooning of the tent in the wind made it hard to fold._
   - _Engineers noted the ballooning of the metal panel under intense heat._
6. The technique by which spiders, mites, and caterpillars travel through the air on strands of silk caught by the wind.
   - Simple: The way some spiders and tiny bugs float through the air on threads of silk.
   - _Researchers documented ballooning in several spider species across the meadow._
   - _Ballooning lets newly hatched spiders colonize islands far from the shore._

## Verb

2. Present participle of balloon. — present participle and gerund of balloon
   - Simple: Present participle of balloon. Use this -ing form for action happening right now.
   - _Her debts were ballooning out of control by year's end._
   - _The project's costs are ballooning beyond the original budget._

## Adjective

4. Growing larger or more numerous at a rapid rate.
   - Simple: Getting bigger very fast, the way a balloon fills with air.
   - _The company struggled with ballooning expenses and shrinking profits._
   - _Reporters covered the city's ballooning population over the past decade._
5. Climbing or floating high up into the air.
   - Simple: Rising up high into the sky, far above the ground.
   - _The ballooning embers drifted high above the dying campfire._
   - _Spectators traced the ballooning fireworks against the night sky._

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