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
The New York Times, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
Kids can make a perfectly symmetrical snowball with this genius snowball maker while keeping their hands warm and dry.
—Laura Lu, Parents, 7 Jan. 2025
Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
This year, the Blizzard Bash has snowballed into a week-long tour for Opus’ band Dead by Wednesday and the California band Skinlab, which hasn’t played the East Coast in years.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 5 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for snowball 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Little ones can frolic in the Snow Bounce room or in a pit of fake snowballs in the Northern Lights section, where representations of the aurora borealis drift above.
—The New York Times, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
Kids can make a perfectly symmetrical snowball with this genius snowball maker while keeping their hands warm and dry.
—Laura Lu, Parents, 7 Jan. 2025
Verb
Many of these negative affects could snowball and make your overall financial future uncertain.
—Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
This year, the Blizzard Bash has snowballed into a week-long tour for Opus’ band Dead by Wednesday and the California band Skinlab, which hasn’t played the East Coast in years.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 5 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for snowball
Articles Related to snowball
Dictionary Entries Near snowball
Cite this Entry
“Snowball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snowball. Accessed 15 Jan. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share