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
Michael Russo, New York Times, 22 May 2025
Within the disk, the gas and dust particles started to collide, solidify and stick together, like snowflakes clumping together to form snowballs.
—Lucas Brefka, The Conversation, 19 May 2025
Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 12 May 2025
Women’s rights: Almost a lost issue but the ongoing criminalization and/or litigation against practitioners who are trying to speak for their patients has snowballed.
—Dr. Jonathan Rosen, Hartford Courant, 11 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for snowball
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Noun
On May 15, Capitals coach Spencer Carbery pushed the snowball even further down the hill, moments after his team’s season ended.
—Michael Russo, New York Times, 22 May 2025
Within the disk, the gas and dust particles started to collide, solidify and stick together, like snowflakes clumping together to form snowballs.
—Lucas Brefka, The Conversation, 19 May 2025
Verb
That quickly snowballed into 0-2, 1-3, 2-13 and 3-14.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 12 May 2025
Women’s rights: Almost a lost issue but the ongoing criminalization and/or litigation against practitioners who are trying to speak for their patients has snowballed.
—Dr. Jonathan Rosen, Hartford Courant, 11 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for snowball
Cite this Entry
“Snowball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snowball. Accessed 4 Jun. 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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