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Examples of trial balloon in a Sentence
She's been floating trial balloons about a possible run for Congress.
Recent Examples on the Web
While fintech relevant rules and regulations like 1033 seem likely to remain, albeit in neutered form, Elon Musk's trial balloon dissolution of the CFPB and the new administration’s broader tendency towards deregulation could open the door for predatory financial services practices.
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Vikas Raj, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025
Democrats didn’t find Trump’s trial balloons funny at all.
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Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 5 Jan. 2025
There’s already been a Washington Post piece reporting some deputies trying to limit the scope of tariffs behind the scenes, a trial balloon Trump has loudly shut down.
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Zack Beauchamp, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
If Zumwalt’s depiction is accurate, Nixon floated a trial balloon to see whether the military brass would support him in a coup d’état against Congress.
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Ivan Perkins, Foreign Affairs, 6 Aug. 2014
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Word History
First Known Use
1826, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near trial balloon
Cite this Entry
“Trial balloon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trial%20balloon. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.
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