as in increased
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number
the little problems we ignored began to snowball into huge headaches
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Recent Examples of snowballed
As Alverson and his clients entered more and more pageants, his acclaim snowballed.
—
Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
The online hatred snowballed, with people accusing Rohal and his team of using AI in other parts of the film that were shot entirely practically.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 2 Oct. 2025
What began as a seasonal special has snowballed into a billion-dollar phenomenon, with copycats and competitors scrambling to ride the wave of fall flavors.
—Lanee Lee, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Hours later, the scandal snowballed after Bloomberg published a trove of emails between Mandelson and Epstein, in which Mandelson expressed support for his friend and offered to discuss his infamous 2008 Florida case with his political contacts.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
What started as a shoestring campus operation snowballed into a right-wing powerhouse.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 11 Sep. 2025
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
The ongoing comparison of the two turned into an internet frenzy that snowballed into lyrical jabs and shade across interviews and social media.
—Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
The online hatred snowballed, with people accusing Rohal and his team of using AI in other parts of the film that were shot entirely practically.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 2 Oct. 2025
What began as a seasonal special has snowballed into a billion-dollar phenomenon, with copycats and competitors scrambling to ride the wave of fall flavors.
—Lanee Lee, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Hours later, the scandal snowballed after Bloomberg published a trove of emails between Mandelson and Epstein, in which Mandelson expressed support for his friend and offered to discuss his infamous 2008 Florida case with his political contacts.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
What started as a shoestring campus operation snowballed into a right-wing powerhouse.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 11 Sep. 2025
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
The ongoing comparison of the two turned into an internet frenzy that snowballed into lyrical jabs and shade across interviews and social media.
—Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snowballed
Verb
-
The number of homebuyers taking out VA loans also increased in August, rising 3 percent year-over-year nationwide—bucking the trend observed for conventional loans, which declined 9 percent year-over-year in the same month.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
-
The area increased to 80% by 2018, according to state media, after numerous buildings and city walls were restored, and 135 temporary structures inside the compound were torn down.—
Fred He,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Waves along the Bay Area coast swelled higher than normal, and king tides continued to push coastal waters higher onto the shore than normal Thursday.—
Rick Hurd,
Mercury News,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Sherrill will inherit a state budget that swelled under Murphy, who delivered on promises to fund the public worker pension fund and a K-12 school aid formula after years of neglect under previous governors, by high income taxes on the wealthy.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Taking a glance at global markets overnight, Asia-Pacific markets rose, tracking Wall Street gains after AMD’s third-quarter earnings beat lifted artificial intelligence stocks.—
Chloe Taylor,Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
6 Nov. 2025
-
The figure rose to a record high of 55 percent in 2022 and 2023.—
Jason Lemon,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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In addition, Brooks accelerated global expansion efforts, growing year-to-date revenue by 23 percent in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)and 82 percent in APLA (Asia Pacific and Latin America) when compared with year-ago levels.—
Vicki M. Young,
Footwear News,
3 Nov. 2025
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In contrast, China and South Korea have grown increasingly at odds as China's technological advancement accelerated.—
Se Eun Gong,
NPR,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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One Beijing site, which expanded by nearly 50% since 2020, is involved in the production of the vaunted DF-26 medium-range ballistic missile, according to the China Aerospace Studies Institute.—
Tamara Qiblawi,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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Since then, Butterfly World expanded to include two aviaries for tropical birds and an interactive lorikeet encounter area.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Snowballed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snowballed. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
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