as in to increase
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number
the little problems we ignored began to snowball into huge headaches
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Recent Examples of snowball
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
The Columbia University encampment started in April 2024, when roughly 50 students pitched tents on university grounds in an occupation that snowballed into an international protest movement.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 19 Mar. 2025
Tickets for the Eras Tour went on sale in November 2022, and quickly snowballed into an international frenzy that drove up ticket prices to thousands of dollars per seat, USA Today reports.
—Emily Forlini, PCMAG, 5 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for snowball
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
The Columbia University encampment started in April 2024, when roughly 50 students pitched tents on university grounds in an occupation that snowballed into an international protest movement.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 19 Mar. 2025
Tickets for the Eras Tour went on sale in November 2022, and quickly snowballed into an international frenzy that drove up ticket prices to thousands of dollars per seat, USA Today reports.
—Emily Forlini, PCMAG, 5 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for snowball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snowball
Verb
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Those unused hours can, however, be converted to service credit to increase their government pensions.—
Melody Gutierrez,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2025
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If elected, what would your top 3 policy priorities be? (1) Infrastructure in forms of roads and increased police and fire due to the growing population.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Today’s offal movement is, in part, an offshoot of the carnivore diet—a meat-heavy approach to eating that, despite copious warnings from nutritionists, rose to prominence online beginning around 2018.—
Valerie Trapp,
The Atlantic,
17 Apr. 2025
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These luxe hydrogel eye masks, infused with antioxidant-rich colloidal gold and soothing rose damask extract, brighten and boost radiance in the delicate under-eye area.—
Jake Henry Smith,
Glamour,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Before the pandemic, Jackson County Public Health had about 30 employees, but swelled to about 120 during the crisis.—
Jonathan Shorman,
Kansas City Star,
9 Apr. 2025
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The agency hopes the undertaking will accommodate population swells on Fort Worth’s western outskirts.—
Jaime Moore-Carrillo,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The improved coding and long-context capabilities could accelerate software development cycles, enabling developers to tackle more complex problems, analyze legacy code more effectively, or generate code documentation and tests more efficiently.—
Janakiram MSV,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
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The blaze accelerated quickly because of the Molotov cocktails, Enterline said.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Then the band climbed into the hot dog, briefly reclaimed from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and soared around the arena.—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
14 Apr. 2025
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Apple, which relies on a supply chain based largely in China, saw shares climb 2.2%.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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For 2024, the list was expanded to 450 companies and looked at their emissions between 2020 and 2022.—
Elizabeth Weise,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
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Capital One is expanding its travel perks, adding exclusive airport lounges, landings (think: snazzy, foodie-forward boutique lounges) and two hotel collections with special benefits.—
Paul Rubio,
AFAR Media,
21 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Snowball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snowball. Accessed 26 Apr. 2025.
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