1
a
: a round mass of snow pressed or rolled together
b
2
: any of several cultivated shrubby viburnums (genus Viburnum) with clusters of white sterile flowers
called also snowball bush
snowballed; snowballing; snowballs
1
intransitive
: to increase, accumulate, expand, or multiply at a rapidly accelerating rate
a trend that has begun to snowball
It was one of those games in which things just snowballed and kept getting worse for Philly …—
Paul Zimmerman
Paul ZimmermanThe snowballing growth of the last few years probably cannot continue forever.—Tamar Lewin
Tamar Lewin2
transitive
: to attack with snowballs : to throw snowballs at
Any man so unwise as to walk alone by day was apt to be set upon and snowballed …—Fritz Leiber
Fritz LeiberSynonyms
Examples of snowball in a Sentence
Noun
This snow is perfect for making snowballs.
Verb
Problems snowball when early trouble signs are ignored.
What started as a small annual concert has snowballed into a full-fledged music festival.
consumers dealing with snowballing debt
Recent Examples on the Web
Phaedra Trethan, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024
In my snowball era Underneath the rocks that formed during the Sturtian glaciation is a deep layer of carbonate rocks known as the Garb Eileach Formation.
—Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 13 Sep. 2024
Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 29 Oct. 2024
This project, which came to be known as the Great Reclamation, eventually snowballed into a 30-year project, and by its end our nation had morphed from a middle- to a high-income country.
—Zining Mok, Longreads, 22 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for snowball 
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Noun
She's never thrown a snowball at anyone who didn't deserve it.
—Phaedra Trethan, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024
In my snowball era Underneath the rocks that formed during the Sturtian glaciation is a deep layer of carbonate rocks known as the Garb Eileach Formation.
—Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 13 Sep. 2024
Verb
With some polls showing Trump with a slight edge over Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris, that affinity has snowballed in recent weeks.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 29 Oct. 2024
This project, which came to be known as the Great Reclamation, eventually snowballed into a 30-year project, and by its end our nation had morphed from a middle- to a high-income country.
—Zining Mok, Longreads, 22 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for snowball
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Dictionary Entries Near snowball
Cite this Entry
“Snowball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snowball. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
snowball
1 of 2 noun
snow·ball
ˈsnō-ˌbȯl 
1
: a round mass of snow pressed or rolled together
2
: a viburnum widely grown for its ball-shaped clusters of white flowers
called also snowball bush
snowball
2 of 2 verb1
: to throw snowballs at
2
: to increase or expand at a rapidly accelerating rate
problems snowball when early trouble signs are ignored
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