Library / English Dictionary

BALLOON

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (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)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Become inflated

Example:

The sails ballooned

Synonyms:

balloon; billow; inflate

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

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

Sense 2

Meaning:

Ride in a hot-air balloon

Example:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

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)

Credits

 Context examples: 

How and why their atmospheres balloon outwards remains unknown, but this feature makes super-puffs prime targets for atmospheric investigation.

('Cotton Candy' Planet Mysteries Unravel in New Hubble Observations, NASA)

Look at that young Frenchman who went up last week in a balloon.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Then, the balloon at the end of the endoscope is deflated, and the endoscope is moved through the next part of the small intestine.

(DBE, NCI Dictionary)

A balloon type pouch or bulge in the wall of a cerebral vein.

(Cerebral Venous Aneurysm, NCI Thesaurus)

Also called DBE and double balloon enteroscopy.

(Double balloon endoscopy, NCI Dictionary)

A two-way valve designed to control the pressure in an endotracheal tube cuff as introduced through a pilot balloon.

(Pilot Balloon Valve Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

Also called DBE and double balloon endoscopy.

(Double balloon enteroscopy, NCI Dictionary)

A balloon type pouch or bulge in the wall of a cerebral artery.

(Cerebral Arterial Aneurysm, NCI Thesaurus)

A balloon type pouch or bulge in the wall of a cerebral blood vessel.

(Cerebral Aneurysm, NCI Thesaurus)

Balloon catheter radiation is a type of intracavitary brachytherapy and partial breast irradiation therapy (PBRT).

(Balloon catheter radiation, NCI Dictionary)