as in increases
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 snowballs
That metaphysical connection soon snowballs into a mounting existential threat when Mia (Sophie Wilde) allows her best friend's eager little brother to have one round with the hand, after which his body is never the same.
—
Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
Sometimes that snowballs for a defense.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Sep. 2025
That then snowballs into a full-length feature Hollywood horror film.
—Aidin Vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 Feb. 2022
Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
Sometimes that snowballs for a defense.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Sep. 2025
That then snowballs into a full-length feature Hollywood horror film.
—Aidin Vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 Feb. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snowballs
Verb
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Posting on multiple platforms simultaneously increases your reach, but be aware that spreading the budget evenly across all of them generally doesn't work.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
13 May 2026
-
The vote signifies the latest push by the group to slow or halt wage increases for tourism workers in the city, increases that hospitality and service worker unions have pushed for to coincide with the 2028 Olympics.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Racine quickly rises, beats the bullies, and then returns to sit next to her sister.—
Jourdain Searles,
HollywoodReporter,
13 May 2026
-
As the meter rises, each ride becomes a space for connection and storytelling, where Kareem learns about the lives of the people behind the wheel and ultimately discovers a little more about himself.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
The guilt swells and swells while the sweater sits and sits.—
Liana Satenstein,
Vogue,
8 May 2026
-
As the orchestra swells, a voice slowly surfaces.—
Ben Cardew,
Pitchfork,
2 May 2026
Verb
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The companies that structure their data for agents now, rather than locking it inside app interfaces, will be better positioned as that transition accelerates.—
Zach Lloyd,
Fortune,
13 May 2026
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Makary has touted his accomplishments as commissioner, including his priority voucher program that accelerates review times for certain drugs.—
Annika Kim Constantino,Angelica Peebles,
CNBC,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Trump doesn’t have that much time to wait, as oil climbs toward $150 or even $200 a barrel, inflation rises, and global food and other commodity shortages kick in.—
Robert Kagan,
The Atlantic,
10 May 2026
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The total climbs past $30,000, $50,000, sometimes $60,000, and that’s before student loans, car payments, and personal loans.—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Snowballs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snowballs. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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