- snow pressed into a ball for throwing, as in play
- a drink made of advocaat and lemonade
- (intransitive) to increase rapidly in size, importance, etc
- (transitive) to throw snowballs at
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
snow•ball /ˈsnoʊˌbɔl/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
v.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a ball of snow pressed together, as for throwing.
v.
- to (cause to) grow or become larger, greater, etc., at an increasing rate: [no object]Soon a few small lies had snowballed into a huge scandal.[~ + object]to snowball a small family business into a huge enterprise.
snow•ball
(snō′bôl′),USA pronunciation n.
v.t.
v.i.
- a ball of snow pressed or rolled together, as for throwing.
- Plant Biologyany of several shrubs belonging to the genus Viburnum, of the honeysuckle family, having large clusters of white, sterile flowers.
- Fooda 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.
- Fooda scoop or ball of ice cream covered with shredded coconut and usually chocolate sauce.
v.t.
- to throw snowballs at.
- to cause to grow or become larger, greater, more intense, etc., at an accelerating rate:to snowball a small business into a great enterprise.
v.i.
- to grow or become larger, greater, more intense, etc., at an accelerating rate.
- 1350–1400; Middle English (noun, nominal); see snow, ball1
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
snowball /ˈsnəʊˌbɔːl/ n