ENGLISH
REFERENCE

inflation

n.
US //ˌɪnˈfɫeɪʃən// UK //ɪnflˈeɪʃən// in·fla·tion
  1. 1 rising prices (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Economics

    a general increase in prices and a fall in the purchasing value of money.

    a persistent increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.

    Example

    High inflation means that your weekly groceries cost much more than they did last year.

    Example

    Central banks often raise interest rates to combat rising inflation and prevent the economy from overheating.

    Usage

    Usually uncountable when referring to the general economic trend.
  2. 2 filling with air (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical

    the act of filling something with air or gas so it gets bigger.

    the act of expanding or distending an object by injecting it with a gas or liquid.

    Example

    The inflation of the life raft took only a few seconds after he pulled the cord.

    Example

    Proper inflation of the aircraft's tires is critical for ensuring a safe landing on wet runways.

    Usage

    Can be countable or uncountable depending on whether it refers to the process or a specific instance.
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  1. 3 academic grades (n.)
    C1 Advanced Academic

    when things like school grades increase over time so they seem less special.

    the tendency for academic marks or evaluations to rise over time, resulting in a perceived loss of value in high grades.

    Example

    Because of grade inflation, almost everyone in the class received an A.

    Example

    Employers expressed concern that grade inflation at top universities makes it difficult to distinguish truly exceptional candidates from the rest of the cohort.
    • grade creep
  2. 4 the early universe (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical Science

    a very fast expansion of the universe that happened just after it began.

    a theory of exponential expansion of space in the early universe, occurring shortly after the Big Bang.

    Example

    Scientists study cosmic inflation to understand how the universe grew so large so quickly.

    Example

    The theory of inflation explains why the cosmic microwave background radiation appears so uniform across the observable sky.
    • cosmic inflation
Origin

From Middle English, borrowed from Old French inflation (“swelling”), from Latin īnflātiō (“expansion", "blowing up”), from īnflātus, the perfect passive participle of īnflō (“blow into, expand”), from in (“into”) + flō (“blow”). By surface analysis, inflate + -ion.

Word family

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