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 LeiberExamples 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
Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2025
For a less ambitious cookie that uses a recipe similar to just the base, search for no-bake chocolate coconut snowballs.
—Bay Area News Group, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2025
Elazar Sontag, Bon Appétit, 20 Feb. 2025
Existing information collected for one purpose cannot necessarily be used for another, Benjamin said, adding that missing slight differences could snowball into huge effects in areas such as disease prevention.
—Reuters, NBC News, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for snowball
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Noun
Secret Service dogs took to the White House lawn to practice catching snowballs in their mouths.
—Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2025
For a less ambitious cookie that uses a recipe similar to just the base, search for no-bake chocolate coconut snowballs.
—Bay Area News Group, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2025
Verb
On Instagram, the pie went mega-viral and the shop’s success snowballed.
—Elazar Sontag, Bon Appétit, 20 Feb. 2025
Existing information collected for one purpose cannot necessarily be used for another, Benjamin said, adding that missing slight differences could snowball into huge effects in areas such as disease prevention.
—Reuters, NBC News, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for snowball
Articles Related to snowball
Cite this Entry
“Snowball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snowball. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.
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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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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