1the action of inflating something or the condition of being inflated:the inflation of a balloonthe gross inflation of salaries
Astronomy (in some theories of cosmology) a very brief exponential expansion of the universe postulated to have interrupted the standard linear expansion shortly after the Big Bang.
2 Economics a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money:policies aimed at controlling inflationtax allowances and excise duties were increased in line with inflationa reduction in annual inflation from 84 per cent to 7 per cent [as modifier]:high inflation rates
Derivatives
inflationism
noun
inflationist
noun & adjective
Origin:
Middle English (in the sense 'the condition of being inflated with a gas'): from Latin inflatio(n-), from inflare 'blow in to' (see inflate). sense 2 dates from the mid 19th century
inflation in other Oxford dictionaries
Definition of inflation in the US English dictionary
