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
Kiona N. Smith, Space.com, 3 Apr. 2025
And the Coach Prime Phenomenon is going downhill faster than Mikaela Shiffrin right now — a pop culture and sports culture snowball that keeps picking up speed.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 31 Mar. 2025
Paul Tassi, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass may be struggling with rough polling numbers, a snowballing city budget crisis and the threat of a possible recall election.
—Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for snowball
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Noun
The resulting mix is a ball of slush just solid enough to stay together, but definitely mushier than, say, a hailstone; picture a wet snowball.
—Kiona N. Smith, Space.com, 3 Apr. 2025
And the Coach Prime Phenomenon is going downhill faster than Mikaela Shiffrin right now — a pop culture and sports culture snowball that keeps picking up speed.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 31 Mar. 2025
Verb
The lowest film on this list, Mufasa: The Lion King, opened poorly, but over time, despite being an original production (which probably hurt it at the outset) snowballed into eventually making $717 million worldwide, a huge hit.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass may be struggling with rough polling numbers, a snowballing city budget crisis and the threat of a possible recall election.
—Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 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 13 Apr. 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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