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balloon

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bal⋅loon

  [buh-loon]
Use balloon in a Sentence
–noun
1. a bag made of thin rubber or other light material, usually brightly colored, inflated with air or with some lighter-than-air gas and used as a children's plaything or as a decoration.
2. a bag made of a light material, as silk or plastic, filled with heated air or a gas lighter than air, designed to rise and float in the atmosphere and often having a car or gondola attached below for carrying passengers or scientific instruments.
3. (in drawings, cartoons, etc.) a balloon-shaped outline enclosing words represented as issuing from the mouth of the speaker.
4. an ornamental ball at the top of a pillar, pier, or the like.
5. a large, globular wineglass.
6. Chemistry Now Rare. a round-bottomed flask.
–verb (used without object)
7. to go up or ride in a balloon.
8. to swell or puff out like a balloon.
9. to multiply or increase at a rapid rate: Membership has ballooned beyond all expectations.
–verb (used with object)
10. to fill with air; inflate or distend (something) like a balloon.
–adjective
11. puffed out like a balloon: balloon sleeves.
12. Finance. (of a loan, mortgage, or the like) having a payment at the end of the term that is much bigger than previous ones.
Origin:
1570–80; < Upper It ballone, equiv. to ball(a) (< Langobardic; see ball 1 ) + -one aug. suffix; or < MF ballon < Upper It

Related forms:
bal⋅loon⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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bal·loon   (bə-lōōn')   
n.  

    1. A flexible bag designed to be inflated with hot air or with a gas, such as helium, that is lighter than the surrounding air, causing it to rise and float in the atmosphere.

    2. Such a bag with sufficient capacity to lift and transport a suspended gondola or other load.

    3. Such a bag shaped like a figure or object when inflated; an inflatable.

  2. A usually round or oblong inflatable rubber bag used as a toy.

  3. Medicine A sac that is inserted into a body cavity or tube and distended with air or gas for therapeutic purposes, such as angioplasty.

  4. A rounded or irregularly shaped outline containing the words that a character in a cartoon is represented to be saying.

v.   bal·looned, bal·loon·ing, bal·loons

v.   intr.

  1. To ascend or ride in a balloon.

  2. To expand or swell out like a balloon. See Synonyms at bulge.

  3. To increase or rise quickly.

v.   tr.
To cause to expand by or as if by inflating.
adj.  Suggestive of a balloon, as in shape: balloon curtains.

[French ballon, from Italian dialectal ballone, augmentative of balla, ball, of Germanic origin; see bhel-2 in Indo-European roots.]
bal·loon'ist n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

balloon 
1579, "a game played with a large inflated leather ball," perhaps borrowed in part from Fr. ballon, altered (after balle) from It. pallone "large ball," from palla "ball," from Langobardic palla (from P.Gmc. *ball-, from PIE *bhel- "to blow, swell") + -one suffix indicating great size. It also meant the ball itself (1592), which was batted back and forth by means of large wooden paddles strapped to the forearms. In 17c., it also meant "a type of fireworks housed in a pasteboard ball" (1634) and "round ball used as an architectural ornament" (1656). Acquired modern meaning after Montgolfier brothers' flights, 1783. As a child's toy, it is attested from 1848; as "outline containing words in a comic engraving" it dates from 1844. The verb meaning "to swell, puff up" is attested from 1841. Trial balloon is congnate of Fr. ballon d'essai.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: bal·loon
Function: adjective
: being or having a final installment that is much larger than preceding ones in an installment or term loan balloon payment>
NOTE: In contrast to an amortized loan, a balloon loan is generally repaid in periodic payments of interest and a large, lump sum payment of principal at the end of the term.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1bal·loon
Pronunciation: b&-'lün
Function: noun
: a nonporous bag of tough light material that can be inflated (as ina bodily cavity) with air or gas balloon into the stomach>

Main Entry: 2balloon
Function: transitive verb
: to inflate or distend like a balloon balloon intransitive senses
: to swell or puffout
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

balloon bal·loon (bə-l&oomacr;n')
n.
An inflatable spherical device that is inserted into a body cavity or structure and distended with air or gas for therapeutic purposes.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Idioms & Phrases

balloon

In addition to the idiom beginning with balloon, also see go over (like a lead balloon); trial balloon.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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