bloat

bloat  (blt)

v. bloat·ed, bloat·ing, bloats

v.tr.

1. To cause to swell up or inflate, as with liquid or gas.

2. To cure (fish) by soaking in brine and half-drying in smoke.

v.intr.

To become swollen or inflated: "Government had bloated out of control" (Lance Morrow).

n.

1. A swelling of the rumen or intestinal tract of cattle and domestic animals that is caused by excessive gas formation following fermentation of ingested watery legumes or green forage.

2. An excess or surfeit, as of employees, expenses, or procedures: corporate bloat.

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[From Middle English blout, soft, puffed, from Old Norse blautr, soft, soaked; see bhleu- in Indo-European roots.]

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bloat [bləʊt]

vb

1. to swell or cause to swell, as with a liquid, air, or wind

2. to become or cause to be puffed up, as with conceit

3. (Cookery) (tr) to cure (fish, esp herring) by half-drying in smoke

n

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Veterinary Science) Vet science an abnormal distention of the abdomen in cattle, sheep, etc., caused by accumulation of gas in the stomach

[probably related to Old Norse blautr soaked, Old English blāt pale]

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Bloat of hippopotami—Lipton, 1970.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	bloat - swelling of the rumen or intestinal tract of domestic animals caused by excessive gas puffiness, swelling, lump - an abnormal protuberance or localized enlargement
Verb	1.	bloat - become bloated or swollen or puff up; "The dead man's stomach was bloated" swell up, tumesce, tumefy, intumesce, swell - expand abnormally; "The bellies of the starving children are swelling"
	2.	bloat - make bloated or swollen; "Hunger bloated the child's belly" distend - cause to expand as it by internal pressure; "The gas distended the animal's body" swell - cause to become swollen; "The water swells the wood"