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
But exasperation took over, and the goals snowballed into a lopsided loss.
—
Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 6 May 2026
The situation snowballed into what many viewed as a fractured relationship between Reese, her teammates and the front office.
—Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Apr. 2026
Four years later, the original concept has snowballed into a luxury hotel and working regenerative farm in the same model as South Africa’s Babylonstoren or Somerset’s The Newt, with grander plans still to come.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
Then Yuki Matsui tweaked his groin in spring training, some soft contact snowballed on Adrián Morejón and Estrada began losing zip on his fastball.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2026
They were considered a distant contender as the eighth championship favorite — before the injuries snowballed and created this predicament.
—Douglas Kezirian, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2026
On the other end, James missed consecutive free throws, which snowballed when Flagg followed with a jumper to push Dallas’ advantage back to 10 points.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 6 Apr. 2026
That energy on both ends of the court had snowballed.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
Once the wine was bottled, things snowballed rather quickly.
—Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 22 Mar. 2026
Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 6 May 2026
The situation snowballed into what many viewed as a fractured relationship between Reese, her teammates and the front office.
—Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Apr. 2026
Four years later, the original concept has snowballed into a luxury hotel and working regenerative farm in the same model as South Africa’s Babylonstoren or Somerset’s The Newt, with grander plans still to come.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
Then Yuki Matsui tweaked his groin in spring training, some soft contact snowballed on Adrián Morejón and Estrada began losing zip on his fastball.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2026
They were considered a distant contender as the eighth championship favorite — before the injuries snowballed and created this predicament.
—Douglas Kezirian, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2026
On the other end, James missed consecutive free throws, which snowballed when Flagg followed with a jumper to push Dallas’ advantage back to 10 points.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 6 Apr. 2026
That energy on both ends of the court had snowballed.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
Once the wine was bottled, things snowballed rather quickly.
—Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 22 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snowballed
Verb
-
California alone spent $24 billion in 5 years fighting homelessness, yet the number of homeless increased.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 May 2026
-
Greek food has always been on the menu at Skippers, but the demand for it has increased over time.—
Sarah Kyrcz,
Hartford Courant,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
With specialist Trevor Baptiste dominating in the faceoff circle, the Seals continued to control time of possession and the lead swelled to 8-2 in the third quarter when Toronto finally snapped a 36-minute scoring drought.—
Ivan Carter,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 May 2026
-
Over 6,000 attended, the crowd swelled by the glorious weather and the prospect of a full-day — more than seven hours — of cricket ahead.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
The Wild sold the Beer Twigs during the regular season, but the team has seen an uptick in sales since the games rose in importance.—
Peter Baugh,
New York Times,
12 May 2026
-
Courts were backed up, the jail population rose once again, and absenteeism became rampant among corrections officers.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
And those efforts have only accelerated, especially since the debut of generative AI chatbots in 2022 and recent advances in agentic AI.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The three ports also have accelerated their alternative fuels bunkering capabilities over the past three years.—
Jennifer Bringle,
Footwear News,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Turner expanded that purchase into Turner Broadcasting System, or TBS, which included Turner Network Television, or TNT, and the groundbreaking 24-hour news channel Cable News Network, or CNN, which launched its nonstop news coverage in 1980.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
-
Neto expanded and was able to put a ball into right field.—
LaMond Pope,
Chicago Tribune,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Snowballed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snowballed. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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