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balloon

balloon

190 1.0
A large bag filled with hot air or gas that rises and floats in the sky
  • noun
  • /bəˈluːn/
translation icon : globo aerostático
  • The children cheered as the balloon floated high into the sky during the festival.
  • hot air balloon
  • balloons stay aloft
  • weather balloon

You don't need an impossible to control balloon to spy on anything.

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Examples

  • She carried a bright red balloon decorated with colorful patterns to the birthday party.

  • The clown handed me the bouquet of balloons, then started playing "Happy Birthday" on a harmonica.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • OK, So the volume of the balloon starts like this.

  • But if you have these air currents, the balloon will rise.

  • Balloon travel finally coming back into fashion.

  • When we launch the balloon, we're tracking the balloon using some radio trackers.

  • Hot air balloons are lighter than air and that's why they fly.

  • Overnight the balloon burst.

  • Quinn released the bouquet of helium balloons he was carrying and held out the six-pack of beer.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Before the party started, we filled the balloon with helium to make it hover above the table.

Synonyms

hot-air balloon
vsballoon
16 3.1

A large bag filled with hot air that lifts people in a basket

is the general large flexible bag filled by gas or heated air
aerostat
vsballoon
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A flying machine like a balloon or airship that floats using a light gas

can also use heated air instead of only lighter gases
lighter-than-air craft
vsballoon
  • Specialized
1 5.9

An aircraft that floats because it is lighter than the air, like a balloon or airship

is a single large flexible bag rather than the broader aircraft category
kite balloon
vsballoon
  • Archaic
9.6

A balloon with a tail that keeps it facing the wind

is a simple flexible bag that rises, not shaped for stability
trial balloon
vsballoon
6.5

A balloon released to test wind and air conditions

is the general floating bag not mainly used to test or probe
pilot balloon
vsballoon
  • Specialized
7.0

A small balloon released to find wind direction and speed high in the sky

is larger and used broadly for lift rather than only wind observation

Compounds

A large bag filled with hot air that lifts people in a basket

An idea someone offers to see how people react before a decision

balloon bomb
  • Archaic
1 7.9

An explosive that a balloon carries to travel far and explode

1 4.6

A small balloon that rises high into the sky to collect weather data

A plant that lives for many years with white to pink puffed flowers in long clusters on upright stems

balloon head
  • Informal
8.9

A feeling that your head is swollen and full with pressure and discomfort

A knot that keeps air or helium inside a balloon

balloon sail
  • Specialized
7.4

A large light sail set to catch the wind and make a boat go faster

balloon seat
  • Archaic
9.9

A rounded chair seat that looks like a small puffed cushion on 18th century chairs

8.3

A climbing plant with woody stems and round seed pods like small balloons

barrage balloon
  • Archaic
8.5

A large balloon tied to the ground with cables to keep low enemy planes away in war

kite balloon
  • Archaic
9.6

A balloon with a tail that keeps it facing the wind

pilot balloon
  • Specialized
7.0

A small balloon released to find wind direction and speed high in the sky

sausage balloon
  • Archaic
9.9

A long thin bag filled with air used to fly above and watch, often in war

A balloon released to test wind and air conditions

A round shape in a comic that shows what a character says

How Big

balloon
190 1.0
balloon
176 1.0

Surface Forms

balloon singular
balloons plural

Etymology

Balloon comes from the French word ballon, which meant a 'large ball' and is like our English ball. People named the flying bags after a big round ball, which is why a hot-air balloon is a large bag that rises and floats like a round object in the sky.