snowball
Americannoun
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any of several shrubs belonging to the genus Viburnum, of the honeysuckle family, having large clusters of white, sterile flowers.
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a confection of crushed ice, usually in the shape of a ball, which is flavored with fruit or other syrup and served in a paper cup.
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a scoop or ball of ice cream covered with shredded coconut and usually chocolate sauce.
verb (used with object)
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to throw snowballs at.
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to cause to grow or become larger, greater, more intense, etc., at an accelerating rate.
to snowball a small business into a great enterprise.
verb (used without object)
noun
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snow pressed into a ball for throwing, as in play
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a drink made of advocaat and lemonade
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slang a mixture of heroin and cocaine
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a dance started by one couple who separate and choose different partners. The process continues until all present are dancing
verb
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(intr) to increase rapidly in size, importance, etc
their woes have snowballed since last year
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(tr) to throw snowballs at
Etymology
Origin of snowball
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And everyone thought he was crazy for thinking something as small as a butterfly could start a snowball effect capable of wiping out whole cities.
From Literature
Instead, the troubles stem from the firm’s big bet on technology lending, its heavy marketing of funds to individual investors—who tend to be flightier—and a series of missteps that snowballed out of control.
The impacts would snowball with a more sustained or severe move.
On Jan. 8, the regime shut off the internet and moved to crush the snowballing movement.
A failure to exert scoreboard pressure led to a snowball effect and a game that was quickly out of reach.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
