balloon.
An inflatable buoyant object, often (but not necessarily) round and flexible.
Meaning & usage
An inflatable buoyant object, often (but not necessarily) round and flexible.
Such an object as a child’s toy or party decoration.
Such an object designed to transport people or equipment through the air.
A sac inserted into part of the body for therapeutic reasons; such as angioplasty.
A speech bubble.
A wide rounded glass with a stem and foot, used for wine, brandy, etc.
A ball or globe on the top of a pillar, church, etc.
the balloon of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London
A round vessel, usually with a short neck, to hold or receive whatever is distilled; a glass vessel of a spherical form.
A bomb or shell.
A game played with a large inflated ball.
The outline enclosing words represented as coming from the mouth of a pictured figure.
A woman's breast.
A small container for illicit drugs made from a condom or the finger of a latex glove, etc.
Synonym of balloon payment.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-der. Proto-Germanic *balluz Frankish *ballubor. Medieval Latin balla Italian palla Proto-Indo-European *-ōder. Proto-Indo-European *-Hōder.? Latin -ōnem Italian -one Italian pallonebor. ▲ Italian pallonebor. Middle French ballonbor.? English balloon First use appears c. 1591, "a game played with a large, inflated leather ball" (possibly via Middle French ballon) from Italian pallone (“large ball”) from palla (“ball”), from Lombardic *palla. The Northern Italian form, balla (“ball-shaped bundle”), today a doublet, likely derived from Old French balle, from Frankish *balla (“ball”), and may have influenced the spelling of this word. Both Germanic words are from Proto-Germanic *ballô (“ball”), *balluz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰoln- (“bubble”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to blow, swell, inflate”). Akin to Old High German ballo, bal (“ball”), (German Ballen (“bale”); Ball "ball"). Doublet of ballon. More at ball.
To increase or expand rapidly.
His stomach ballooned from eating such a large meal.
Prices will balloon if we don't act quickly.
To go up or voyage in a balloon.
To take up in, or as if in, a balloon.
To inflate like a balloon.
To strike (a ball) so that it flies high in the air.
Of an aircraft: to plunge alternately up and down.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-der. Proto-Germanic *balluz Frankish *ballubor. Medieval Latin balla Italian palla Proto-Indo-European *-ōder. Proto-Indo-European *-Hōder.? Latin -ōnem Italian -one Italian pallonebor. ▲ Italian pallonebor. Middle French ballonbor.? English balloon First use appears c. 1591, "a game played with a large, inflated leather ball" (possibly via Middle French ballon) from Italian pallone (“large ball”) from palla (“ball”), from Lombardic *palla. The Northern Italian form, balla (“ball-shaped bundle”), today a doublet, likely derived from Old French balle, from Frankish *balla (“ball”), and may have influenced the spelling of this word. Both Germanic words are from Proto-Germanic *ballô (“ball”), *balluz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰoln- (“bubble”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to blow, swell, inflate”). Akin to Old High German ballo, bal (“ball”), (German Ballen (“bale”); Ball "ball"). Doublet of ballon. More at ball.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.