bal·loon
beloōn|
noun
1 a brightly colored rubber sac inflated with
air and then sealed at the neck, used as a
children’s toy or a decoration :
the room was festooned with balloons and
streamers | figurative his derision pricked the
fragile balloon of her vanity.
• a round or pear-shaped outline in which the
words or thoughts of characters in a comic
strip or cartoon are written :
a balloon reading “Ka-Pow!”
2 a large bag filled with hot air or gas to make
it rise in the air, typically carrying a basket for
passengers :
a hot-air balloon
3 (also balloon glass) a large rounded drinking
glass, used for brandy and other drinks.
adjective
resembling a balloon; puffed : a flouncy
balloon curtain.
Laura Sobrado, Type 3, RISD 2009
verb [ intrans. ]
1 swell out in a spherical shape; billow : the trou-
sers ballooned out below his waist | [ trans. ]
the wind ballooned her sleeves.
• (of an amount of money) increase rapidly :
the company’s debt has ballooned in the last five years | [as
adj. ] ( ballooning) ballooning government spending.
• swell dramatically in size or number :
the public payroll ballooned from about 27,000 people to
about 66,000 people
• (of a person) increase rapidly and dramatically in
weight :
I had ballooned on the school’s starchy diet.
2 travel by hot-air balloon :
he is famous for ballooning across oceans.
ORIGIN
late 16th cent.(originally denoting a game
played with a large inflated leather ball): from
French ballon or Italian ballone ‘large ball.’
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 O
ballo n
noun 1. a brightly colored rubber sac inflated with air and then sealed at the neck, used as a children’s toy or a decoration : the room was festooned with balloons and streamers | figurative
his derision pricked the fragile balloon of her vanity.·
a round or pear-shaped outline in which the words or thoughts of characters in a comic strip or cartoon are written : a balloon reading
“Ka-Pow!” 2. a large bag filled with hot air or gas to make it rise in the air, typically carrying a basket for passengers :a hot-air balloon 3. (also balloon glass) a large rounded drinking
glass, used for brandy and other drinks. verb [ intrans. ] 1. swell out in a spherical shape; billow : the trousers ballooned out below his waist | [ trans. the wind ballooned her sleeves.·
(of an amount of money) increase rapidly :the company’s debt has ballooned in the last five years | [as adj. ] ( ballooning) ballooning government spending. · swell dramatically in size or number : the public
payroll ballooned from about 27,000 people to about 66,000 people · (of a person) increase rapidly and dramatically in weight : I had ballooned on the school’s starchy diet. 2. travel by hot-air balloon : he is
famous for ballooning across oceans. adjective resembling a balloon; puffed : a flouncy balloon curtain. ORIGIN late 16th cent.(originally denoting a game played with a large
inflated leather ball): from French ballon or Italian ballone ‘large ball.’
Laura Sobrado, Type 3, RISD 2009