as in to increase
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number
the little problems we ignored began to snowball into huge headaches
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of snowball
The loss to Tennessee last season snowballed into five straight during Coach John Calipari's first season in Fayetteville.
—
Matt Byrne, Arkansas Online, 2 Jan. 2026
But the system led to a bad start for the sophomore guard making his first career start, and everything snowballed from there.
—Cameron Teague Robinson, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2026
Such a streak in years past might have snowballed.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 30 Dec. 2025
Even the savviest travelers make mistakes—often small decisions that snowball into bigger hassles once a trip is underway.
—Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 29 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for snowball
Matt Byrne, Arkansas Online, 2 Jan. 2026
But the system led to a bad start for the sophomore guard making his first career start, and everything snowballed from there.
—Cameron Teague Robinson, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2026
Such a streak in years past might have snowballed.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 30 Dec. 2025
Even the savviest travelers make mistakes—often small decisions that snowball into bigger hassles once a trip is underway.
—Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 29 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for snowball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snowball
Verb
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Hadi of the weather service said those increasing winds could create hazardous marine conditions in South Florida, so swimmers and boaters should stay aware.—
Sofia Saric,
Miami Herald,
14 Jan. 2026
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The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has pushed back the start date of the new Clean Heat Standard (CHS) – a regulatory scheme that increases costs for natural gas, propane and oil providers to support state climate goals – back two years to 2028.—
Tim Dunn,
Boston Herald,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Friday, though chip stocks broadly rose.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
16 Jan. 2026
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Pricey rooftops Of course, California housing costs rise as you near the water.—
Jonathan Lansner,
Oc Register,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
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When they are enshrined, along with Eras Committee choice Jeff Kent, Hall of Fame membership will swell to 354.—
Dan Schlossberg,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
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What started with ten people blocking the van’s path quickly swelled to nearly 2500 citizen activists by the end of the day.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The race to commercialize perovskite technology has accelerated rapidly in recent years.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Jan. 2026
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The transfer portal, which opened Friday, allows programs to accelerate the rebuilding process and replace departing players — more than 20 in Florida’s case.—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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For five years, the group from Mexico's National Autonomous University has climbed the volcano with pounds of equipment, risked data loss due to bad weather or a volcanic explosion and used artificial intelligence to analyze the seismic data.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Jan. 2026
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But as prices have climbed in recent days, locals have increasingly stayed away from the market stalls, reducing the chaos to a relative hush.—
Regina Garcia Cano,
Fortune,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Flywing also plans to expand the competitive side of the platform.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Jan. 2026
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Neutrality allowed the nation to build strength, expand westward, and avoid the ideological contagions sweeping the continent.—
Daniel Ross Goodman,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Snowball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snowball. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
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