inflation

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)An act, instance of, or state of expansion or increase in size, especially by injection of a gas or liquid.

   “The inflation of the balloon took five hours.”

2. (countable, uncountable)An increase in the quantity of money, leading to a devaluation of existing money, adjusted for by way of higher nominal values.

   “Due to inflation, the monthly gym fee is rising by 10% from January.”

3. (countable, uncountable)Undue expansion or increase, as of academic grades.
4. (countable, uncountable)An extremely rapid expansion of the universe, theorized to have occurred very shortly after the Big Bang.

name

1. The inflationary epoch of the Universe, where the size of the space of universe expanded at speeds beyond the speed of light. One of the ages of the Universe. The cosmic era when most formulations of Big Bang theory start their timelines.