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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of snowball
Major problems arising from hallucinating AI coding software could snowball into catastrophe at many other firms as well.
—
Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 19 Mar. 2026
When traffic is unpredictable, and everyone’s on edge, small mistakes can snowball quickly.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 12 Mar. 2026
While air traffic controllers are not directly involved in the latest funding spat, the previous shutdown reveals how travel disruptions can quickly snowball.
—Jackson Shedelbower, Oc Register, 11 Mar. 2026
Here’s a player who got injured and saw his velocity dip, and then the struggles snowballed.
—Sahadev Sharma, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for snowball
Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 19 Mar. 2026
When traffic is unpredictable, and everyone’s on edge, small mistakes can snowball quickly.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 12 Mar. 2026
While air traffic controllers are not directly involved in the latest funding spat, the previous shutdown reveals how travel disruptions can quickly snowball.
—Jackson Shedelbower, Oc Register, 11 Mar. 2026
Here’s a player who got injured and saw his velocity dip, and then the struggles snowballed.
—Sahadev Sharma, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for snowball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snowball
Verb
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The MorphoScan’s measurements ebbed and flowed from day to day as expected, with my weight dropping the day after a cardio workout and increasing after a weekend of indulgence.—
Andrew Gebhart,
PC Magazine,
5 Apr. 2026
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UConn recovered from its prolonged shooting slump to regain its bearings, eventually increasing its lead to 10 points on a Mullins’ 3 with 47 seconds left in the half before heading into the locker room up 37-29.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Now there's another big one; the cost of nitrogen fertilizer, which often comes in the form of urea, is rising due to war.—
Alan Gionet,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
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Pisces February 19 – March 20 A fresh voice rises from within you.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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From there, the Hornets’ advantage continued to swell with little Nets resistance, outside of a Minott flagrant foul early in the fourth quarter in a 27-point game.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
1 Apr. 2026
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March 13 More than 300 TSA workers have resigned about a month into the partial government shutdown, DHS says, as employees miss their first full paycheck and callout rates swell.—
Graham Hurley,
CNN Money,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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At the height of the pandemic — when learning loss was accelerating and reading gaps were widening — the approval process was estimated to take six months to a year.—
Daniel L Gordon,
Daily News,
29 Mar. 2026
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In the long term, the supply shock may accelerate nuclear restarts and electric vehicle adoption faster than years of climate policy ever managed.—
Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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There was a blithe, mildly stoned look in everyone’s eyes, and most of the women were dressed like gnomes while all the men appeared ergonomically outfitted to climb a cliff face but were instead commuting to their office jobs.—
Catherine Lacey,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
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Beckham climbed over a short barrier and spent a couple of minutes with fans who leaned down from the stands as the man who started all this 12 years ago signed autographs and posed for selfies.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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With the 2026 midterms approaching, sustained voter unease could reshape the broader electoral map and complicate Republican efforts to hold or expand their congressional margins.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
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But the department is looking to expand its authority.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Snowball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snowball. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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