In*fla"tion (?), n. [L. inflatio: cf. F. inflation.] 1. The act or process of inflating, or the state of being inflated, as with air or gas; distention; expansion; enlargement. Boyle.

2. The state of being puffed up, as with pride; conceit; vanity. B. Jonson.

3. Undue expansion or increase, from overissue; -- said of currency. [U.S.]

• An act, instance of, or state of expansion or increase in size, especially by injection of a gas.
        The inflation of the balloon took five hours.
  
• Expansion in the money supply beyond the increase in available goods and services. Often misunderstood to mean a rise in prices, which generally accompanies such an expansion.
        The low level of the Federal Reserve Rate caused a great inflation in the money supply that year, accompanied soon after by a general rise in prices.