Examples of trial balloon in a Sentence
She's been floating trial balloons about a possible run for Congress.
Recent Examples on the Web
In that way, Norwood is less a synthetic star in the making than a bellwether or a kind of trial balloon.
—
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2025
The reality is Leventhal’s nascent campaign is probably a trial balloon that will pop.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 18 Sep. 2025
Manfred’s trial balloon – launched during an interview televised on the Little League Classic last Sunday – hardly lifted off the ground when it was shot down by Howie Rose, the cerebral and highly-respected radio voice of the New York Mets.
—Dan Schlossberg, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
But in ruling out property taxes as part of the package this fall, the mayor may very well have sensed a trial balloon had popped after several aldermen quickly criticized the idea this week.
—Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for trial balloon
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.
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2025
The reality is Leventhal’s nascent campaign is probably a trial balloon that will pop.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 18 Sep. 2025
Manfred’s trial balloon – launched during an interview televised on the Little League Classic last Sunday – hardly lifted off the ground when it was shot down by Howie Rose, the cerebral and highly-respected radio voice of the New York Mets.
—Dan Schlossberg, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
But in ruling out property taxes as part of the package this fall, the mayor may very well have sensed a trial balloon had popped after several aldermen quickly criticized the idea this week.
—Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for trial balloon
Cite this Entry
“Trial balloon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trial%20balloon. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share