inflation
inflation Lexical Profile
inflation Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A sustained general increase in the prices of goods and services in an economy over time, resulting in a corresponding fall in the purchasing value of money.
"The central bank raised interest rates in an effort to curb rising inflation."
The action of filling something with air or gas so that it swells or expands, or the state of being so filled.
"Proper tire inflation improves fuel efficiency and extends the life of the tread."
An exaggerated, unwarranted, or artificial increase in the size, importance, or value of something.
"Many universities have expressed concern over widespread grade inflation in undergraduate courses."
In physical cosmology, a theoretical period of extremely rapid exponential expansion of space in the very early universe immediately following the Big Bang.
"Cosmic inflation explains why the universe appears remarkably uniform in all directions."
• Rhymes for inflation
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 14th century from Latin inflatio ('a blowing up, swelling, or flatulence'), derived from the verb inflare ('to blow into'), from in- ('into') and flare ('to blow'). The economic sense referring to an expansion of currency and rising prices emerged in American English during the mid-19th century.