snowball

1 of 2

noun

snow·​ball ˈsnō-ˌbȯl 

1

a

: a round mass of snow pressed or rolled together

b

: snow cone

2

: any of several cultivated shrubby viburnums (genus Viburnum) with clusters of white sterile flowers

called also snowball bush

snowball

2 of 2

verb

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

The snowballing growth of the last few years probably cannot continue forever.

—Tamar Lewin

2

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

Synonyms of snowball

Verb

• increase
• rise
• swell
• accelerate
• climb
• expand

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 Web

Noun

The common sentiment seemed to be that there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Coors Field could be transformed from a winter wonderland into a pristine, emerald playing field. —Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 7 May 2026

The legislation stems from February's snowball incident that injured two NYPD officers in Washington Square Park, which Mayor Zohran Mamdani dismissed as just good fun. —Marcia Kramer, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026

Verb

Louisa, all the producers and the writers are putting little inklings that are showing these sprinkles of just who John Tucker is that are going to snowball into things. —Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026

Left unchecked, this lint can slowly snowball, to the point where an errant spark could lead to a serious conflagration inside the vent. —Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 12 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1820, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing snowball

• a snowball's chance in hell
• snowball effect
• snowball fight

Rhymes for snowball

• aldol
• armhole
• atoll
• awol
• backhaul
• banal
• baseball
• befall
• cabal
• catchall
• cecal
• centrale

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 verb

1

: to throw snowballs at

2

: to increase or expand at a rapidly accelerating rate

problems snowball when early trouble signs are ignored