BALLOON

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does balloon mean? 

• BALLOON (noun)
  The noun BALLOON has 2 senses:

1. large tough nonrigid bag filled with gas or heated air

2. small thin inflatable rubber bag with narrow neck

  Familiarity information: BALLOON used as a noun is rare.

• BALLOON (verb)
  The verb BALLOON has 2 senses:

1. ride in a hot-air balloon

2. become inflated

  Familiarity information: BALLOON used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BALLOON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Large tough nonrigid bag filled with gas or heated air

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("balloon" is a kind of...):

lighter-than-air craft (aircraft supported by its own buoyancy)

Meronyms (parts of "balloon"):

envelope; gasbag (the bag containing the gas in a balloon)

ripcord (a cord that is pulled to open the gasbag of a balloon wide enough to release gas and so causes the balloon to descend)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "balloon"):

hot-air balloon (balloon for travel through the air in a basket suspended below a large bag of heated air)

meteorological balloon (a small unmanned balloon set aloft to observe atmospheric conditions)

trial balloon (a balloon sent up to test air currents)

Derivation:

balloon (ride in a hot-air balloon)

balloonist (someone who flies a balloon)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Small thin inflatable rubber bag with narrow neck

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("balloon" is a kind of...):

plaything; toy (an artifact designed to be played with)

• BALLOON (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they balloon    ... he / she / it balloons   
Past simple: ballooned   
Past participle: ballooned   
-ing form: ballooning   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Ride in a hot-air balloon

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

He tried to balloon around the earth but storms forced him to land in China

Hypernyms (to "balloon" is one way to...):

aviate; fly; pilot (operate an airplane)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

balloon (large tough nonrigid bag filled with gas or heated air)

balloonist (someone who flies a balloon)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Become inflated

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

balloon; billow; inflate

Context example:

The sails ballooned

Hypernyms (to "balloon" is one way to...):

expand (become larger in size or volume or quantity)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "balloon"):

reflate (become inflated again)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

 Context examples 

The tube has a tiny balloon on the end.

(Angioplasty, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

An aneurysm is a bulge or "ballooning" in the wall of an artery.

(Aneurysms, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Bulging or ballooning in an area of an artery secondary to arterial wall weakening.

(Aneurysm, NCI Thesaurus)

Dilation of the valve between the left ventricle of the heart and the aorta by inflating a balloon.

(Aortic Balloon Valvotomy, NCI Thesaurus/ACC)

A small balloon is filled with air inside the blood vessel to push the plaque against the blood vessel wall and increase the opening.

(Balloon angioplasty, NCI Dictionary)

The balloon is then filled with liquid and left in place.

(Balloon Brachytherapy, NCI Dictionary)

This intensely hot core then expelled the star’s outer layers, causing it to balloon to hundreds of times larger than its original size.

(Giant Bubbles on Red Giant Star’s Surface, ESO)

The balloon part of the receptor complex is located outside the cell.

(Structure of receptor involved in brain disorders, NIH)

The morning after the balloon had gone up with Oz, the four travelers met in the Throne Room and talked matters over.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

Researchers liken the charge to the static electricity generated when you rub a balloon on your hair.

('Electric Sands' Cover Titan, VOA News)