ballon d'essai

UK/ˌbalɒ̃ dɛˈseɪ/

noun

A policy put forward to test reactions; something designed to test the waters, an experimental measure.

OriginFrench ballon d'essai →
First used 19th c.
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Meanings

nounballon d'essai (plural ballons d'essai)

plural ballons d'essai

  1. A policy put forward to test reactions; something designed to test the waters, an experimental measure.First known use 19th c.

    James II may even have planned the reintroduction of the ceremony, for in his reign the old order of service was resurrected and issued in print, as a ballon d'essai, though the Revolution prevented matters being taken any further.

    1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 193

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
trial balloon

Origin

  1. Frenchballon d'essai
  2. Englishballon d'essai

Borrowed from French ballon d'essai.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

ballon d'essai. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ballon%20d'essai

MLA

“ballon d'essai.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ballon%20d'essai. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ballon d'essai,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ballon%20d'essai.

Source: ballon d'essai on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.