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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China’s drive for technological self-sufficiency channels ever more resources into expanding industrial capacity, which, against a backdrop of weak domestic demand, only increases its dependence on exports.—
Neil Shearing,
Time,
20 May 2026
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Furthermore, heat increases electrical resistance for EV batteries and chargers, resulting in longer, more taxing charging sessions.—
Charles Singh,
USA Today,
20 May 2026
Verb
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The amount that can be contributed to a Roth IRA is phased out as MAGI rises.—
Bob Carlson,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2026
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Now the summer road trip season is approaching, when gasoline demand traditionally rises.—
Bloomberg News,
Boston Herald,
20 May 2026
Verb
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Throughout, visiting tourist Madeleine (Kristen Stewart) stuffs her face with every kind of meat, vegetable and carb while her father Phil (Woody Harrelson) is the one whose stomach miraculously swells.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
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Buffett recently acknowledged displeasure with the investing backdrop as Berkshire's cash hoard swells to a record nearing $400 billion.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
15 May 2026
Verb
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Sulentic also admitted that community opposition to data centers has intensified as the AI infrastructure boom accelerates.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
20 May 2026
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Domain-specific or compliance-ready models may maintain durable market positions even as general-purpose consolidation accelerates.—
Mayur Khandelwal,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2026
Verb
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Tuesday, May 19Now 15%-lit, the waxing crescent moon climbs slightly higher and is now halfway between Venus and Jupiter, above.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
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Among non-Sherpa climbers, the record is held by British guide Kenton Cool, who has accomplished the feat 19 times, followed by American climbers Dave Hahn and Garrett Madison, with 15 climbs each.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Snowballs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snowballs. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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