Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Balloon |
BalloonNoun1. Small thin inflatable rubber bag with narrow neck. 2. Large tough non-rigid bag filled with gas or hot air. Verb1. Ride in a hot air balloon. 2. Become inflated; "The sails ballooned". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "balloon" was first used: 1579. (references) |
Etymology: Balloon \Bal*loon"\, noun. [French ballon, aug. of balle ball: compare to Italian ballone. See 1st Ball, noun, and compare to Pallone.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Sports & Leisure | A small-necked inflatable bag of thin usually gaily coloured rubber used as a toy. Source: European Union. (references) |
Business | An area (as of cartoon) in which presumed spoken words are printed or thoughts represented typically having a rounded outline and being connected with the speaker's. . . mouth by a single line. Source: European Union. (references) |
Dream Interpretation | Blighted hopes and adversity come with this dream. Business of every character will sustain an apparent falling off. To ascend in a balloon, denotes an unfortunate journey. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Fine Arts | Bulle dans laquelle est écrit le texte de bandes dessinées. Source: European Union. (references) |
Industry | Hemispherical aspect of the yarn in reeling. Source: European Union. (references) |
Literature | Balloon (A pilot) Metaphorically, a feeler, sent to ascertain public opinion. "The pilot balloon sent from ... has shown [the sender] the direction of the wind, and he now trims his sails accordingly." - Newspaper paragraph, January, 1886. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Post & Telecom | A bag made of light material, filled with a gas lighter than air designed to rise and float in the atmosphere. Source: European Union. (references) |
Transportation | A non-power-driven lighter-than-air aircraft. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A balloon is a flexible and often expandable bag that can be filled with air or another substance (generally balloons are filled with a gas). Early balloons were made of dried animal bladderss.
Balloons as flying machines
A balloon is conceptually the simplest of all flying machines. The balloon is a cloth "envelope" filled with a gas that is lighter than the surrounding atmosphere. As the entire balloon is less dense than its surroundings, it rises, taking along with it a "gondola" attached underneath that carries passengers or payload.
The first balloon, launched in 1783 by two Parisian brothers named Montgolfier, used hot air to obtain buoyancy. Balloons using the light gas hydrogen for buoyancy were also developed at the same time. Jean Pierre Blanchard made the first piloted balloon flight in North America on January 9, 1793. Although a balloon has no propulsion system, as balloonists became more experienced they learned a degree of directional control through the measure of rising or sinking in altitude to find favorable winds.
Both the hot-air, or Montgolfière, balloon and the light gas balloon are still in common use for Earthly activities. Montgolfière balloons are relatively inexpensive as they do not require high-grade materials for their envelopes, and they are popular for balloonist sport activity.
Light gas balloons are predominant in Earth-based scientific applications, as they are capable of reaching much higher altitudes for much longer periods of time. They are generally filled with helium. Although hydrogen has more lifting power, it is explosive in an atmosphere full of oxygen. With a few exceptions, scientific balloon missions are unmanned.
There are two types of light-gas balloons: zero-pressure and superpressure. Zero-pressure balloons are the traditional form of light-gas balloon. They are partially inflated with the light gas before launch, with the gas pressure the same both inside and outside the balloon. As the zero-pressure balloon rises, its gas expands to maintain the zero pressure difference, and the balloon's envelope swells.
At night, the gas in a zero-pressure balloon cools and contracts, causing the balloon to sink. A zero-pressure balloon can only maintain altitude by releasing gas when it goes too high, where the expanding gas can threaten to rupture the envelope, or releasing ballast when it sinks too low. Loss of gas and ballast limits the endurance of zero-pressure balloons to a few days.
A superpressure balloon, in contrast, has a tough and inelastic envelope that is filled with light gas to pressure higher than that of the external atmosphere, and then sealed. The superpressure balloon cannot change size greatly, and so maintains a generally constant volume. The superpressure balloon maintains an altitude of constant density in the atmosphere, and can maintain flight until gas leakage gradually brings it down.
Superpressure balloons offer flight endurance of months, rather than days. In fact, in typical operation a Earth-based superpressure balloon mission is ended by a command from ground control to open the envelope, rather than by natural leakage of gas.
For air transport balloons must contain a gas lighter than the surrounding air. We can distinguish:
Large helium balloons are used as high flying vessels to carry scientific instruments (as do weather balloons), or even human passengers. See: Montgolfiere, Zeppelin, Blimp, Airship, QinetiQ 1.
- hot air balloons: filled simply with air, which by heating becomes lighter than the surrounding air; they have been used to carry human passengers since the 1790s;
- balloons filled with:
- hydrogen -- no longer used because of the high flammability. See Hindenburg disaster
- helium
Balloons in the military
Some military use of balloons is discussed in hot air balloons.
In World War II, gas-filled barrage balloons with cables hanging from them were used to interdict low-flying aircraft in the Battle of Britain. Also, the Japanese attempted to send bombs to the US via balloons carried in the jet stream; see fire balloons.
Balloons as decoration or entertainment
Party balloons are mostly made of artificial polymer rubber and can be filled with air, helium, water, or any other suitable liquid or gas. When rubber balloons are filled with air, their shapes can last for weeks. When rubber balloons are filled with helium so that they float (restrained by ribbons or strings) they seldom can hold their shape for more than a few hours. The enclosed air or helium escapes through small pores, and helium atoms being much smaller than the nitrogen and oxygen molecules in air, it escapes much quicker. Even a perfect rubber membrane eventually loses helium to the outside, and its contents are contaminated by oxygen and nitrogen migrating inward from the outside. The gases in question actually dissolve in the rubber on one side and are released from solution on the other. The process by which a substance migrates from a region of high concentration, through a barrier to a region of lower concentration is called osmosis.
Partygoers sometimes entertain each other by untying a balloon and inhaling the helium. Because the speed of sound in helium is about twice that in air, the helium causes the vocal tract to become more responsive to high-pitched sounds and less responsive to lower ones. The result is a voice that sounds high-pitched (and usually very funny).
Beginning in the early 1990s, some more expensive (and longer-lasting) helium balloons have been made of thin, unstretchable, impermeable Mylar films. These mylar balloons have attractive shiny reflective surfaces and are often printed with color pictures and patterns. The most important attributes of Mylar for balloons are its light weight, increasing buoyancy and its ability to keep the helium gas from escaping for several weeks. However, there has been some environmental concern, since the Mylar does not biodegrade or shred as a rubber balloon does, and a helium balloon released into the atmosphere can travel a long way before finally bursting or deflating.
Balloon artists are entertainers who twist and tie inflated tubular balloons into sculptures. The balloons used for balloon sculpture are made of extra-stretchy rubber so that they can be twisted and tied without bursting. Since the pressure required to inflate a balloon is inversely proportional to the diameter of the balloon, these tiny tubular balloons are extremely hard to inflate initially. A pump is usually used to inflate these balloons because inflating these balloons by one's mouth alone is very difficult.
Decorators may use dozens of helium balloons to create balloon sculpture. Usually the round shape of the balloon restricts these to simple arches or walls, but on occasion more ambitious "sculptures" have been attempted.
Water balloons are thin, small rubber balloons intended to be easily broken. They are usually used by children, who throw them at (or to) each other, trying to get each other wet. (See practical joke.) A popular game with this idea is a water balloon toss, where two lines of people stand opposite each other and throw balloons back and forth until each and bursts, showering whomever failed to carefully catch it.
Balloons in medicine
Angioplasty is a surgical procedure in which very small balloons made of a special material are inserted into blocked or partially blocked blood vessels near the heart. Once in place, the balloon can be inflated to clear or compress arterial plaque, and to stretch the walls of the vein. A small surgical stent can be inserted in its place to keep the vessel open after the balloon's removal. See heart attack.
External link
- Work of a typical balloon artist
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Balloon."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
BALLOON | English | Borne Intercomparative Measurements of Stratospheric Trace Gases | N/A |
| Ball | English | Balloon | Transportation |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: BalloonSynonyms: billow (v), inflate (v). (additional references) |
| Synonyms by domain: ballooned (transportation). |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Dissuasion | Disenchant,disillusion, deflate, take down a peg, pop one's balloon, prick one's balloon, burst one's bubble; disabuse (correction) a. |
Experiment | Grope; feel one's way, grope for one's way; fumble, t_tonner, aller _ t_tons, put out a feeler, throw out a feeler; send up a trial balloon, send up a pilot balloon; see how the land lies, get the lay of the land, test the waters, feel out, sound out, take the pulse, see, check, check out, see how the wind blows; consult the barometer; feel the pulse; fish for, bob for; cast for, beat about for; angle, trawl, cast one's net, beat the bushes. |
Feeler; trial balloon, pilot balloon, messenger balloon; pilot engine; scout; straw to show the wind. | |
Levity | Lighter-than-air balloon, helium balloon, hydrogen balloon, hot air balloon. |
Light as a feather, light as a thistle, light as air; lighter than air; rise like a balloon, float like a balloon. | |
Feather, dust, mote, down, thistle, down, flue, cobweb, gossamer, straw, cork, bubble, balloon; float, buoy; ether, air. | |
Navigation | Aerostation, aerostatics, aeronautics; balloonery; balloon; ballooning, aviation, airmanship; flying, flight, volitation; wing, pinion; rocketry, space travel, astronautics, orbital mechanics, orbiting. |
Plunge | Get out of one's depth; go to the bottom, go down like a stone, drop like a lead balloon; founder, welter, wallow. |
Ship | Balloon; airship, aeroplane; biplane, monoplane, triplane; hydroplane; aerodrome; air balloon, pilot balloon, fire balloon, dirigible, zeppelin; aerostat, Montgolfier; kite, parachute. |
Wit | Bomb, fall flat; go over like a lead balloon. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Forty-eight waist with the balloon seat, right (The Simpsons; writing credit: Artur Brauner; Paul Hengge) But what it does to the mind? It tosses the sandbags overboard so the balloon can soar (The Lost Weekend; writing credit: Charles Brackett) Your balloon animals were pathetic . Anyone can make a giraffe (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; writing credit: Doreen Spicer) Because you have no idea just how frustrating it is working your ass off trying to inflate a tiny little balloon inside somebody's clogged artery when all that person has to do, really is--oh, I don't know--go for a walk in the morning or choke down a fresh green salad (Scrubs; writing credit: Gabrielle Allan; Janae Bakken) I wonder what it would be like to do this without a balloon. (The Great Muppet Caper; writing credit: Jerry Juhl; Tom Patchett) | |
Lyrics | Baby's black balloon makes her fly (Black Balloon; performing artist: Goo Goo Dolls) It's like someone takes a pin to your balloon (Why They Call It Fallin; performing artist: Lee Ann Womack) In a wonderful balloon. (Joyride; performing artist: Roxette) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Blue Balloon (1974) Balloon Snatcher (1969) Peter Potamus and His Magic Flying Balloon (1964) Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962) Balloon Blues (1962) | |
Song Titles | Black Balloon (performing artist: Goo Goo Dolls) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books | |||
Periodicals |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Consumer Goods |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Scientific Balloon. Credit: NASA. |  | Dart balloon used for meteorological studies OCEANOGRAPHER around the world cruise. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | Meteorological radiosonde balloon being released OCEANOGRAPHER around the world cruise. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | #1 - Releasing a weather balloon at the South Pole meteorological station. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
 | #2 - Releasing a weather balloon at the South Pole meteorological station. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |  | Large rawinsonde balloon is released in foreground It will measure atmospheric conditions during ascent. In the background are surface weather instruments. These measure temperature, relative humidity, pressure and precipitation. A mobile radar unit is also shown. Credit: National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL). |
 | Rawinsonde weather balloon just after launch. Notice a parachute in the center of the string and a small instrument box at the end. After release it measures many parameters. These include temperature, relative humidity, pressure, and wind speed. This information is transmitted back to surface observers. Credit: National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL). |  | Coast and Geodetic Survey Ship DISCOVERER with a number of sensors attached to bow during BOMEX, the Barbados Oceanographic and Meteorological Experiment. The tethered balloon is carrying upper-air meteorological sensors, the boom project ing from the bow has meteorological instruments, and the line leading down has sea-temperature sensors attached. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. |
 | In: "The Meteor Expedition," by F. Spiess, German Atlantic Expedition 1925-1927. Meteorological balloon launching apparatus on the METEOR. Plate 26. Library Call Number C/La S755. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. |  | Floating just above the water, a balloon representing the Airborne Laser program makes a practice flight in preparation for the Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which begins Oct. 7. One of approximately 1,000 balloons attending this year's. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Sonic the Balloon" by Victoria Clare Commentary: "Sonic the hedgehog balloon kissing a building society." | "Yellow balloon" by Jarin Tabata Commentary: "Yellow hot air balloon preparing for take off from the port of stavanger, norway." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Play | Caption |
 | Inflating a balloon by mouth. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Henry Ward Beecher | God made man to go by motives, and he will not go without them, any more than a boat without steam or a balloon without gas. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | In particular it will be its duty to make an inventory of the aeronautical material existing in German territory, to inspect aeroplane, balloon and motor manufactories, and factories producing arms, munitions and explosives capable of being used by aircraft, to visit all aerodromes, sheds, landing grounds, parks and depots, to authorise, where necessary, a removal of material and to take delivery of such material. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | The doctor inflates a small balloon inside the rectum. (references) | |
Like a balloon, the bladder's elastic walls stretch and expand to store urine. (references) | ||
The balloon is inflated briefly to open the vessel in places where the artery is narrowed. (references) | ||
Trade | Turkey | The terms of leasing are usually four years, with a balloon payment at the end. (references) |
Dominican Rep | Most loans are fixed-term loans where the borrower is required to make either periodic payments of principal and interest or a single balloon payment of the entire balance at the loan's termination. (references) | |
Zimbabwe | However, that said, over the last two years it has yielded to government pressure on matters such as deficit spending by providing very substantial overdraft facilities and allowing money supply to balloon. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Dennis Miller | Look, trying to separate the Middle East equitably is like trying to cut a water balloon in half with the back of a comb. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Balloon" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.08% of the time. "Balloon" is used about 650 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.08% | 644 | 10,128 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.92% | 6 | 143,867 |
| Total | 100.00% | 650 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "balloon" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Balloon | Last name | 100 | 75,246 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
Expressions using "balloon": Air balloon ♦ Avalanche Balloon System ♦ balloon ascent ♦ balloon barrage ♦ balloon ceiling ♦ balloon d'essai ♦ Balloon Dilatation ♦ balloon dilation ♦ balloon fish ♦ balloon flower ♦ Balloon frame ♦ balloon glass ♦ balloon jib ♦ Balloon net ♦ Balloon Occlusion ♦ balloon reflector ♦ balloon sail ♦ balloon seat ♦ balloon seller ♦ balloon sleeve ♦ balloon sleeves ♦ balloon tire ♦ balloon tyre ♦ balloon vine ♦ balloon with tubulure ♦ barrage balloon ♦ captive balloon ♦ constant level balloon ♦ dirigible balloon ascent ♦ Fire balloon ♦ float like a balloon ♦ free balloon ♦ Gastric Balloon ♦ glass balloon ♦ go over like a lead balloon ♦ helium balloon ♦ hot air balloon ♦ hotair balloon ♦ hydrogen balloon ♦ inflate a balloon ♦ Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumping ♦ kite balloon ♦ messenger balloon ♦ meteorological balloon ♦ navigable balloon ♦ observation balloon ♦ passive balloon ♦ pilot balloon ♦ rise like a balloon ♦ sausage balloon ♦ sounding balloon ♦ stratospheric balloon ♦ trial balloon ♦ when the balloon goes up. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "balloon": balloon-back, balloon-bedecked, balloon-blowing, balloon-borne, balloon-busting, balloon-car, balloon-catheter, balloon-dancing, balloon-filled, balloon-like, balloon-or, balloon-travel, balloon-tyred, balloon-valve, balloon-wheeled. | |
Ending with "balloon": barrage-balloon, bs-balloon, kite-balloon, sausage-balloon. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
balloon | 6,636 | temecula balloon and wine festival | 173 |
hot air balloon | 3,806 | balloon arch | 163 |
balloon for party | 958 | flower and balloon | 158 |
hot air balloon ride | 942 | latex balloon | 144 |
birthday balloon | 635 | valentine balloon | 142 |
balloon ride | 613 | popping balloon | 142 |
balloon bouquet | 392 | balloon flight | 137 |
balloon gift | 320 | balloon mortgage | 133 |
balloon clipart | 297 | advertising balloon | 123 |
balloon fetish | 292 | balloon decorating | 119 |
balloon picture | 275 | balloon game water | 117 |
water balloon | 248 | balloon clip art | 112 |
balloon decoration | 243 | balloon bear big festival | 110 |
mylar balloon | 235 | hot air balloon picture | 109 |
helium balloon | 225 | balloon game | 108 |
balloon delivery | 188 | balloon rocket | 108 |
wholesale balloon | 185 | balloon art | 104 |
balloon festival | 185 | hot air balloon festival | 104 |
wedding balloon | 180 | balloon twisting | 98 |
water balloon launcher | 175 | balloon sex | 97 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "balloon"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | ballon, aërostaat (air-balloon). (various references) | |
Albanian | balonë (air balloon, flask, kite), poçe (crock, jar, Jerry, night-chair, night-stool, pipkin, pot), aerostat (air balloon). (various references) | |
Arabic | منطاد بالون, مطاطي كالبالون, نفخ (be puffed up, belly out, bloat, blow up, distend, distension, fill out, inflate, inflation, insufflation, plump, pout, puff, pumping, sulk, swell out, windiness), صعد (ascend, ascent, climb, embark, escalate, go up, manacle, rise, scale, sublimate, uphill), إنتفخ (bag, belly, billow, bloat, bulge, distend, fill, fluff, heave, inflate, puff, strut, swell), بالون الحوار, بالون الأطفال. (various references) | |
Blackfoot | áíkkatoo'p. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | кълбо (ball, globe, orb, puff, sphere), балон (air balloon). (various references) | |
Chinese | 氣球 , 气球. (various references) | |
Czech | balónek, balón, nafukovací balónek. (various references) | |
Danish | ballon (ballooning, cuff, float). (various references) | |
Dutch | ballon (air-balloon), luchtballon (air-balloon). (various references) | |
Esperanto | balono, aerostato (air-balloon). (various references) | |
Farsi | مثل بالون , بالون (Airship, Zeppelin), بادکنک , بابالون پروازکردن . (various references) | |
Finnish | ilmapallo. (various references) | |
French | ballon (ball, soccer ball), aérostat, bulle. (various references) | |
German | ballon (air-balloon), sprechblase, luftballon (air-balloon). (various references) | |
Greek | αερόστατο (aerostat, airship), μπαλόνι. (various references) | |
Hebrew | שלפוחית (sac, vesicle, womb), כדור פורח, בלון. (various references) | |
Hungarian | ballon (carboy, free balloon), léghajó (airship, blimp, ship, zeppelin), léggömb (air balloon), képregény bekeretezett szövege. (various references) | |
Indonesian | balon. (various references) | |
Italian | pallone (ball, dance, flask, football, soccer). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 風船 , 風船 , バベルの塔 (balalaika, balance, balance of power, balance sheet, balcony, ballade, ballast, Baltic, balun, barber's clippers, Barcelona, baritone, barium, barracks, barreled wine, barricade, barrier, Barriquand et Marre, bawm bawm, Brahman, bulk carrier, bulk line, bulk storage, bulky, bulky sweater, impediment removal, Tower of Babel, value, value analysis, value engineering, variable condensor, variant, variation, variety, variety show, variety store, varistor, vulcanized fiber, vulcanized rubber), 気球 . (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | バルーン , ききゅう (ask for, aspiring to, attempt, demand, emergency, furlough, leave, seek), ふうせん. (various references) | |
Korean | 풍선. (various references) | |
Manx | sheidey seose (inflate, puff), mollag aeragh, lhieeney magh (crowd out), eddrymane, bolgey (abdominal, dilate, dilation, enlarge, fill, inflate, inflation, swell), balloon. (various references) | |
Norwegian | ballong. (various references) | |
Papiamen | balon. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | alloonbay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | balão (ball, sphere), aeróstato (aerostat, air-balloon). (various references) | |
Romanian | balon (ball, bubble, bulb, receiver), se umfla (bag, belly out, billow, bloat out, bulge, bulk, distend, fill out, flow, ridge, swell), se ridica în aer într-un balon, ridica (advance, aggrandize, appear, arise, arrest, ascend, assemble, bring up, build, carry up, collect, construct, convene, create, draw the cloth, elevate, encash, enhance, erect, found, get up, heave, hoist, interpose, kick up, lift, loop, Mount, muster, perk up, pick up, pitch, pose, prong, pry, put, put up, raise, receive, remove, resound, rise, round up, salt, set up, shovel, start, step up, stick up, straighten, strike, suspend, take up, up, uplift, weigh), aerostat (aerostat), înãlţa (build, elevate, erect, exalt, heave, heighten, hoist, lift, put up, raise, set up, uplift). (various references) | |
Russian | аэростат (aerostat, air balloon, air-balloon, gasbag). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | balon (blimp). (various references) | |
Spanish | globo (air balloon, ball, bowl, globe, lob, orb), balón (ball, basketball, football, large bale, spinnaker), aeróstato (aerostat, air balloon, air-balloon). (various references) | |
Swedish | ballong (ballon). (various references) | |
Turkish | balon (aerostat). (various references) | |
Turkmen | howa юary. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | розтягувати (distend, elongate, overblow, protract, pull, spin out, spread out, stretch), роздуватися (bloat, blow out, bulge, distend, plump), овал (ellipse, oval), надувати (plim, swell), мильна бульбашка (soap bubble), аеростат (aerostat, gas-bag), балон (bulb, cylinder), підійматися на аеростаті, повітряна куля (aerostat). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | khí cầu (aerostat, airship). (various references) | |
Welsh | balw+n, awyren (aeroplane, aircraft, airplane, plane). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | vesicae. (various references) |
| Italian | 900-Modern | pallone. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "balloon": ballooned, ballooning, balloonings, balloonist, balloonists, balloons. (additional references) | |
| |
"Balloon" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: aloon, Baglioni, bahloon, Baillon, Balafon, Baldon, Baldoon, Baleno, ballan, ballin, ballmoor, ballo, Balloan, ballon, ballony, balloony, ballooon, Ballou, ballum, Ballyoonan, balon, baloo, baloon, Balou, Balson, Balun, Bellomo, bellon, Bellona, Belloni, Belloso, beloon, braillon. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "balloon" (pronounced buluw"n) |
| 4 | -u l uw" n | galloon, saloon. |
| 3 | -l uw" n | loon. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-b-l-l-n-o-o" | |
-1 letter: ballon. | |
-2 letters: aboon, llano. | |
-3 letters: ball, bola, boll, bolo, boon, loan, lobo, loon, nolo, obol, olla. | |
-4 letters: abo, alb, all, bal, ban, boa, boo, lab, lob, loo, nab, nob, noo. | |
-5 letters: ab, al, an, ba, bo, la, lo, na, no, on. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-b-l-l-n-o-o" | |
+1 letter: balloons. | |
+2 letters: ballooned. | |
+3 letters: ballooning, balloonist, balneology, collarbone, lobulation. | |
+4 letters: balloonings, balloonists, ballyhooing, collarbones, collembolan, lobulations. | |
+5 letters: alloantibody, balneologies, collembolans, controllable, downloadable, inconsolable, inconsolably, monosyllabic, monosyllable, oblanceolate. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Sounds 10. Quotations: Familiar 11. Quotations: Historic 12. Quotations: Non-fiction | 13. Quotations: Spoken 14. Usage Frequency 15. Names: Frequency 16. Expressions | 17. Expressions: Internet 18. Translations: Modern 19. Translations: Ancient 20. Abbreviations | 21. Acronyms 22. Derivations 23. Rhymes 24. Anagrams | 25. Bibliography |
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