Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - inflate

(inflates, inflating, inflated) 1. If you inflate something such as a balloon or tyre, or if it inflates, it becomes bigger as it is filled with air or a gas. Stuart jumped into the sea and inflated the liferaft... Don’s lifejacket had failed to inflate. VERB: V n, V 2. If you say that someone inflates the price of something, or that the price inflates, you mean that the price increases. The promotion of a big release can inflate a film’s final cost... Clothing prices have not inflated as much as automobiles. = increase VERB: V n, V • inflated They had to buy everything at inflated prices at the ranch store. ADJ 3. If someone inflates the amount or effect of something, they say it is bigger, better, or more important than it really is, usually so that they can profit from it. They inflated clients’ medical treatment to defraud insurance companies... VERB: V n