1
a
: a round mass of snow pressed or rolled together
b
2
: any of several cultivated shrubby viburnums (genus Viburnum) with clusters of white sterile flowers
called also snowball bush
snowballed; snowballing; snowballs
1
intransitive
: to increase, accumulate, expand, or multiply at a rapidly accelerating rate
a trend that has begun to snowball
It was one of those games in which things just snowballed and kept getting worse for Philly …—
Paul Zimmerman
Paul ZimmermanThe snowballing growth of the last few years probably cannot continue forever.—Tamar Lewin
Tamar Lewin2
transitive
: to attack with snowballs : to throw snowballs at
Any man so unwise as to walk alone by day was apt to be set upon and snowballed …—Fritz Leiber
Fritz LeiberExamples of snowball in a Sentence
Noun
This snow is perfect for making snowballs.
Verb
Problems snowball when early trouble signs are ignored.
What started as a small annual concert has snowballed into a full-fledged music festival.
consumers dealing with snowballing debt
Recent Examples on the Web
Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2025
Without it, in theory, the player might feel thrown off or less secure in their serve, which, in turn, could affect the trajectory of the point (and potentially the game, and then the set, and then the match, because in tennis, it all snowballs.
—Caroline Tien, SELF, 5 Sep. 2025
Eric Twardzik, Robb Report, 8 Sep. 2025
Other discipline errors snowballed after that.
—Jesse Newell, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for snowball
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Noun
From there, the snowball of negative plays picked up steam, which explains why the Dolphins finished the game with 211 yards.
—Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2025
Without it, in theory, the player might feel thrown off or less secure in their serve, which, in turn, could affect the trajectory of the point (and potentially the game, and then the set, and then the match, because in tennis, it all snowballs.
—Caroline Tien, SELF, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
What began in January with an executive order mandating federal workers to return in-person has snowballed, with firms from Amazon to JP Morgan following suit.
—Eric Twardzik, Robb Report, 8 Sep. 2025
Other discipline errors snowballed after that.
—Jesse Newell, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for snowball
Cite this Entry
“Snowball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snowball. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
snowball
1 of 2 noun
snow·ball
ˈsnō-ˌbȯl 
1
: a round mass of snow pressed or rolled together
2
: a viburnum widely grown for its ball-shaped clusters of white flowers
called also snowball bush
snowball
2 of 2 verb1
: to throw snowballs at
2
: to increase or expand at a rapidly accelerating rate
problems snowball when early trouble signs are ignored
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