balloon

• POS: Noun, Verb (intransitive), Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: bal=loon

CIDE DICTIONARY

balloon, n. [F. ballon, aug. of balle ball: cf. It. ballone. See 1st Ball, n., and cf. Pallone.].

•  A bag made of silk or other light material, and filled with hydrogen gas or heated air, so as to rise and float in the atmosphere; especially, one with a car attached for aërial navigation.  [1913 Webster]
•  A ball or globe on the top of a pillar, church, etc., as at St. Paul's, in London.  [1913 Webster]
•  A round vessel, usually with a short neck, to hold or receive whatever is distilled; a glass vessel of a spherical form.  [1913 Webster]
•  A bomb or shell.  [1913 Webster]
•  A game played with a large inflated ball.  [1913 Webster]
•  The outline inclosing words represented as coming from the mouth of a pictured figure.  [1913 Webster]

Air balloon, a balloon for aërial navigation. -- Balloon frame (Carp.), a house frame constructed altogether of small timber. -- Balloon net, a variety of woven lace in which the weft threads are twisted in a peculiar manner around the warp.

balloon, v. t. 

 To take up in, or as if in, a balloon.  [1913 Webster]

balloon, v. i. 

•  To go up or voyage in a balloon.  [1913 Webster]
•  To expand, or puff out, like a balloon.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

balloon, n. & v.
--n.
1 a small inflatable rubber pouch with a neck, used as a child's toy or as decoration.
2 a large usu. round bag inflatable with hot air or gas to make it rise in the air, often carrying a basket for passengers.
3 colloq. a balloon shape enclosing the words or thoughts of characters in a comic strip or cartoon.
4 a large globular drinking glass, usu. for brandy.
--v.
1 intr. & tr. swell out or cause to swell out like a balloon.
2 intr. travel by balloon.
3 tr. Brit. hit or kick (a ball etc.) high in the air.

Derivative

balloonist n.

Etymology

F ballon or It. ballone large ball

THESAURUS

balloon

Graf Zeppelin, accrue, accumulate, advance, aeroplane, aerostat, air bubble, airlift, airplane, airship, appreciate, bag, ball, ballonet, be airborne, bead, belly, belly out, bilge, billow, bladder, bleb, blimp, blister, bloat, blob, blood blister, boll, bolus, boom, bouge, breed, broaden, bubble, bug, bulb, bulbil, bulblet, bulge, bulk, bulla, captive balloon, conglobulate, crescendo, cruise, develop, dilate, dirigible, dirigible balloon, distend, drift, ellipsoid, enlarge, expand, extend, ferry, fever blister, fill out, flit, fly, fob, gain, gain strength, gasbag, geoid, get ahead, glide, globe, globelet, globoid, globule, glomerulus, go up, gob, gobbet, goggle, greaten, grow, hop, hover, hydroplane, increase, intensify, jet, knob, knot, lighter-than-air craft, mount, multiply, mushroom, navigate, oblate spheroid, orb, orbit, orblet, pellet, pilot balloon, pocket, poke, pooch, pop, pouch, pout, prolate spheroid, proliferate, puff up, rigid airship, rise, rondure, round out, run up, sac, sack, sail, sailplane, sausage, seaplane, semirigid airship, ship, shoot up, snowball, soap bubble, soar, sphere, spherify, spheroid, spherule, spread, strengthen, stretch, swell, swell out, take the air, take wing, tumefy, vesicle, volplane, wax, weather balloon, widen, wing, zeppelin

ROGET THESAURUS

balloon

Navigation

N navigation, aquatics, boating, yachting, ship, oar, paddle, screw, sail, canvas, aileron, natation, swimming, fin, flipper, fish's tail, aerostation, aerostatics, aeronautics, balloonery, balloon, ballooning, aviation, airmanship, flying, flight, volitation, wing, pinion, rocketry, space travel, astronautics, orbital mechanics, orbiting, voyage, sail, cruise, passage, circumnavigation, periplus, headway, sternway, leeway, fairway, mariner, flight, trip, shuttle, run, airlift, sailing, volant, aerostatic, seafaring, nautical, maritime, naval, seagoing, coasting, afloat, navigable, aerial, aeronautic, grallatory, under way, under sail, under canvas, under steam, on the wing, in flight, in orbit, bon voyage, spread the thin oar and catch the driving gale.

Ship

N ship, vessel, sail, craft, bottom, navy, marine, fleet, flotilla, shipping, man of war, transport, tender, storeship, merchant ship, merchantman, packet, liner, whaler, slaver, collier, coaster, lighter, fishing boat, pilot boat, trawler, hulk, yacht, baggala, floating hotel, floating palace, ocean greyhound, ship, bark, barque, brig, snow, hermaphrodite brig, brigantine, barkantine, schooner, topsail schooner, for and aft schooner, three masted schooner, chasse-maree, sloop, cutter, corvette, clipper, foist, yawl, dandy, ketch, smack, lugger, barge, hoy, cat, buss, sailer, sailing vessel, windjammer, steamer, steamboat, steamship, liner, ocean liner, cruiseship, ship of the line, mail steamer, paddle steamer, screw steamer, tug, line of steamers, destroyer, cruiser, frigate, landing ship, LST, aircraft carrier, carrier, flattop, nuclear powered carrier, submarine, submersible, atomic submarine, boat, pinnace, launch, life boat, long boat, jolly boat, bum boat, fly boat, cock boat, ferry boat, canal boat, swamp boat, ark, bully, battery, bateau, broadhorn, dory, droger, drogher, dugout, durham boat, flatboat, galiot, shallop, gig, funny, skiff, dingy, scow, cockleshell, wherry, coble, punt, cog, kedge, lerret, eight oar, four oar, pair oar, randan, outrigger, float, raft, pontoon, prame, iceboat, ice canoe, ice yacht, catamaran, hydroplane, hovercraft, coracle, gondola, carvel, caravel, felucca, caique, canoe, birch bark canoe, dugout canoe, galley, galleyfoist, bilander, dogger, hooker, howker, argosy, carack, galliass, galleon, polacca, polacre, tartane, junk, lorcha, praam, proa, prahu, saick, sampan, xebec, dhow, dahabeah, nuggah, kayak, keel boat, log canoe, pirogue, quadrireme, trireme, stern-wheeler, wanigan, wangan, wharf boat, balloon, airship, aeroplane, biplane, monoplane, triplane, hydroplane, aerodrome, air balloon, pilot balloon, fire balloon, dirigible, zeppelin, aerostat, Montgolfier, kite, parachute, jet plane, rocket plane, jet liner, turbojet, prop-jet, propeller plane, corporate plane, corporate jet, private plane, private aviation, airline, common carrier, fighter, bomber, fighter-bomber, escort plane, spy plane, supersonic aircraft, subsonic aircraft, afloat, aboard, on board, on ship board, hard a lee, hard a port, hard a starboard, hard a weather.

Levity

N levity, lightness, imponderability, buoyancy, volatility, feather, dust, mote, down, thistle, down, flue, cobweb, gossamer, straw, cork, bubble, balloon, float, buoy, ether, air, leaven, ferment, barm, yeast, lighter-than-air balloon, helium balloon, hydrogen balloon, hot air balloon, convection, thermal draft, thermal, light, subtile, airy, imponderous, imponderable, astatic, weightless, ethereal, sublimated, gossamery, suberose, suberous, uncompressed, volatile, buoyant, floating, portable, light as a feather, light as a thistle, light as air, lighter than air, rise like a balloon, float like a balloon.