inflatein‧flate /ɪnˈfleɪt/ verb 
[intransitive, transitive] to fill something with air or gas so it becomes larger, or to become filled with air or gas: 
It took us half an hour to inflate the dinghy. Her life jacket failed to inflate.2[transitive] to make something seem more important or impressive than it really is: The success further inflated his self-confidence.be grossly/vastly/hugely inflated The numbers of people involved have been grossly inflated by the media.3[intransitive, transitive] technical to increase in price, or to make something increase in price: Hotels often inflate prices at particular times of the year. Costs were inflating.
WORD ORIGINinflate
Origin:
1400-1500 Latin past participle of inflare, from flare ‘to blow’VERB TABLE
inflate
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | inflate |
| he, she, it | inflates | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | inflated |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have inflated |
| he, she, it | has inflated | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had inflated |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will inflate |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have inflated |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am inflating |
| he, she, it | is inflating | |
| you, we, they | are inflating | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was inflating |
| you, we, they | were inflating | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been inflating |
| he, she, it | has been inflating | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been inflating |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be inflating |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been inflating |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Axe says that the management pressured him to inflate cost estimates on repairs.
- Beauty, money, and popularity can all inflate a person's ego.
- The raft inflates automatically.
- Tyres should always be inflated to the correct pressure.
- We inflated the balloons with helium.
- You can inflate the mattress in 30 seconds, using a foot pump.
Longman Language Activatorto fill something with air
to fill something with air or gas, for example a tyre or a balloon: blow up something/blow something up: · Come and help me blow up the balloons.· This tyre's really flat - could you blow it up for me?
formal if you inflate something such as a tyre or balloon or it inflates , you fill it with air: · Tyres should always be inflated to the correct pressure.· You can inflate the mattress in 30 seconds, using a foot pump.· Her life jacket failed to inflate.
to fill something with air using a pump (=a machine that forces air into something): pump up something/pump something up: · Your back tire was a little flat so I pumped it up.
WORD SETSabsolute advantage, aggregate demand, AGM, nounagribusiness, nounairline, nounappurtenance, nounassessment, nounbad debt, nounbalance sheet, nounbankroll, verbbankrupt, adjectivebankrupt, verbbankrupt, nounbankruptcy, nounbargain, verbbargain basement, nounbaron, nounbill of sale, nounbiz, nounblack market, nounblack marketeer, nounboom, nounboom and bust, nounboom town, nounbrown goods, nounbubble, nounbudget surplus, business card, nounbusiness cycle, business hours, nounbuyout, nouncapital, nouncapital-intensive, adjectivechamber of commerce, nounclerical, adjectiveconsumer, nounconsumer goods, noundisposable income, noundownturn, noundrive-through, nouneconomically, adverbfinancial, adjectiveflat, adjectivefree enterprise, noungiveaway, adjectiveincrement, nounindustry, nouninflate, verbinflated, adjectiveinflation, nouninflationary, adjectiveinsolvent, adjectiveinstitution, nouninterest, nounintroduction, nounlivery, nounlow season, nounlucrative, adjectiveMBA, nounmemo, nounmentoring, nounnegotiable, adjectivenegotiate, verbnegotiation, nounnon-profit, adjectiveopen, verboperational research, nounowner-occupied, adjectivepack, nounpackage, nounpaperwork, nounpatron, nounpatronage, nounpatronize, verbpay, verbpcm, peppercorn rent, nounpersonal assistant, nounplanned obsolescence, nounpp., quarter, nounquarter day, nounquota, nounquote, verbready-made, adjectivereal estate, nounrebate, nounredeem, verbredevelop, verbrefund, nounrent, nounshutdown, nounsliding scale, nounsubcontract, verbsubcontractor, nountariff, nounundercut, verbundersubscribed, adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The numbers of people involved have been grossly inflated by the media.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
The numbers of people involved have been grossly inflated by the media. (=higher than is usual or reasonable)· People seem willing to pay inflated prices for houses in central London.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· The 1988 figure had been artificially inflated by a bunching of large contributions to multilateral organizations such as the World Bank.· Opponents charge that this system artificially inflates the cost of peanut products for consumers and provides a federal windfall for quota-holders.
NOUN· This bladder inflated when air was pumped into the suit at a pressure of 26 kPa.· Then, the entire bird is inflated by forcing air into it.
· We all started to inflate our balloons and eventually one burst.· The final piece that we have to add is the generation of pressure without having to inflate a balloon to start with.
· Government engineers bought sub-standard equipment, inflated the price, and pocketed the difference.· They came to symbolize the excesses of the period: the hype and inflated prices new artwork was able to command.· Branson bought them at an auction which inflated the group's price far beyond its true value.· Speculators, however, repeatedly inflated the price enormously within days or weeks of release.
WORD FAMILYadjectiveinflatableinflatedinflationarydeflationaryreflationarynouninflationinflatabledeflationreflationverbinflatedeflatereflate
1 [intransitive, transitive] to fill something with air or gas so it becomes larger, or to become filled with air or gas: It took us half an hour to inflate the dinghy. Her life jacket failed to inflate.2[transitive] to make something seem more important or impressive than it really is: The success further inflated his self-confidence.be grossly/vastly/hugely inflated The numbers of people involved have been grossly inflated by the media.3[intransitive, transitive] technical to increase in price, or to make something increase in price: Hotels often inflate prices at particular times of the year. Costs were inflating.