ballooning

noun

bal·​loon·​ing bə-ˈlü-niŋ How to pronounce ballooning (audio)
: the act or sport of riding in a balloon

Examples of ballooning in a Sentence

She's always wanted to go ballooning.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The rating agency cut the nation’s sovereign credit rating down one notch to Aa1 from Aaa, pointing to the government’s ballooning deficit and the cost of rolling over its existing debt. John Melloy,lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 22 May 2025 Explaining its rationale for lowering its credit rating on the United States for the first time since 1917, Moody’s cited ballooning US debt levels and Washington’s intransigence over budget deficit solutions. Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 19 May 2025 Friday’s downgrade to Aa1 — citing a ballooning deficit and the rising cost of refinancing existing debt — marks the end of that era. Anisha Sircar, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025 One of the leading causes of the current fiscal crisis is the ballooning liability payments that the city makes in settlements and jury verdicts. Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for ballooning

Word History

First Known Use

1784, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ballooning was in 1784

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Cite this Entry

“Ballooning.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ballooning. Accessed 31 May. 2025.

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