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 Wolverines increased their lead to 42 with less than a minute left in the fourth.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Jan. 2026
-
And while famine has not yet emerged, food insecurity has increased, with most Cubans eating a limited diet and skipping meals.—
Joseph J. Gonzalez,
Fortune,
8 Jan. 2026
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
-
Rizzi even rose to associate head coach for two years prior to leaving the Dolphins after the 2018 season.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Additionally, the December survey showed that respondents’ expectations of losing their job rose to the highest mean probability since April 2025, while the probability of those voluntarily quitting dropped to the lowest rate since July 2023.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
This trend accelerated in December as the flag state emerged as a critical shield against drone strikes and vessel seizures.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
7 Jan. 2026
-
America’s top campuses remain crowded with wealth, but some universities have accelerated efforts to reach a wider swath of the country, recruiting more in urban and rural areas and offering free tuition for students whose families are not among the highest earners.—
Collin Binkley,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
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 Jan. 2026.
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