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 Leiber
Synonyms
Examples 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 WebMiles Parks, NPR, 9 Apr. 2024
De La Salle’s dominance on Saint Mary’s soggy pitch seemed to snowball with each successful score on Saturday.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2024
This could be a sledding race or a race to see who can make the most snowballs in a certain time.
—Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 18 Jan. 2024
One snowball held up for all to see on the U.S. Senate floor is not evidence of, well, anything.
—The Arizona Republic, 6 Mar. 2024
During a contentious school board meeting, protesters hurled snowballs at trustees.
—Hollace Ava Weiner, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Jan. 2024
One of the top-selling items is the snowball mochi, a sweet, white mochi ball filled with light cream and fruit.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2024
The ever-resourceful Bills have become accustomed to Mother Nature throwing a snowball or two into their schedule.
—John Wawrow, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2024
Soon enough the train passed through two different ski resorts and vacationers greeted us by unleashing a barrage of snowballs on the observation car.
—Javier Panzar, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024
Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 26 Mar. 2024
Feeling a lack of agency or power over the fate of the world or one’s life can lead to hopelessness, something that can snowball into depression.
—Ariella Steinhorn, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024
When those two players struggled, the effect snowballed, leaving Kelly and Nelson, in particular, trying to put out too many different fires at one time.
—The Indianapolis Star, 22 Jan. 2024
Ineffective teaching strategies, exacerbated by pandemic-era learning disruption, have snowballed into a generation of struggling readers.
—Jackie Valley, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2024
Narrow your attention to make progress that snowballs and more opportunities will come.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
If Washington had left the issue alone or confined its threats to private channels, China and Russia’s disagreement might have snowballed into an even larger rift.
—Oriana Skylar Mastro, Foreign Affairs, 19 Feb. 2024
By the third act, what began as a teenage crush has snowballed into an alarming flirtation with the black bloc protest movement.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 19 Feb. 2024
Since then, the pastry has snowballed into a national phenomenon.
—Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 15 Feb. 2024
Noun
In recent years, as the attrition began to snowball, experts worried the impact on 2024 could be disastrous.
—Miles Parks, NPR, 9 Apr. 2024
De La Salle’s dominance on Saint Mary’s soggy pitch seemed to snowball with each successful score on Saturday.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2024
This could be a sledding race or a race to see who can make the most snowballs in a certain time.
—Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 18 Jan. 2024
One snowball held up for all to see on the U.S. Senate floor is not evidence of, well, anything.
—The Arizona Republic, 6 Mar. 2024
During a contentious school board meeting, protesters hurled snowballs at trustees.
—Hollace Ava Weiner, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Jan. 2024
One of the top-selling items is the snowball mochi, a sweet, white mochi ball filled with light cream and fruit.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2024
The ever-resourceful Bills have become accustomed to Mother Nature throwing a snowball or two into their schedule.
—John Wawrow, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2024
Soon enough the train passed through two different ski resorts and vacationers greeted us by unleashing a barrage of snowballs on the observation car.
—Javier Panzar, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024
Verb
Indeed, Gen Zers who took on credit card debt during the high-spending pandemic era are now facing snowballing debt thanks to soaring interest rates.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 26 Mar. 2024
Feeling a lack of agency or power over the fate of the world or one’s life can lead to hopelessness, something that can snowball into depression.
—Ariella Steinhorn, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024
When those two players struggled, the effect snowballed, leaving Kelly and Nelson, in particular, trying to put out too many different fires at one time.
—The Indianapolis Star, 22 Jan. 2024
Ineffective teaching strategies, exacerbated by pandemic-era learning disruption, have snowballed into a generation of struggling readers.
—Jackie Valley, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2024
Narrow your attention to make progress that snowballs and more opportunities will come.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
If Washington had left the issue alone or confined its threats to private channels, China and Russia’s disagreement might have snowballed into an even larger rift.
—Oriana Skylar Mastro, Foreign Affairs, 19 Feb. 2024
By the third act, what began as a teenage crush has snowballed into an alarming flirtation with the black bloc protest movement.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 19 Feb. 2024
Since then, the pastry has snowballed into a national phenomenon.
—Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 15 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'snowball.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
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Cite this Entry
“Snowball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snowball. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids 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
More from Merriam-Webster on snowball
Nglish: Translation of snowball for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about snowball
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