What does "snowball" mean?
A ball of snow, usually one made in the hand and thrown for amusement in a snowball fight; also a larger ball of snow made by rolling a snowball around in snow that sticks to it and increases its diameter.
Snowball
/ˈsnəʊbɔːl/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A ball of snow, usually one made in the hand and thrown for amusement in a snowball fight; also a larger ball of snow made by rolling a snowball around in snow that sticks to it and increases its diameter.
- Grammar: snowball is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abronia elliptica, accrue, accumulate, accumulation.
- Useful contrasts: decrease, diminish, diminishing effect.
- Usage evidence: The children were rolling a big snowball.
How to use "snowball"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "snowball" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "snowball" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "snowball" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "snowball" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "snowball" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abronia elliptica" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "snowball", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A ball of snow, usually one made in the hand and thrown for amusement in a snowball fight; also a larger ball of snow made by rolling a snowball around in snow that sticks to it and increases its diameter.
- 2 snow pressed into a ball for throwing (playfully) wordnet
- 3 A cocktail made from lemonade and advocaat.
- 4 ball of crushed ice with fruit syrup wordnet
- 5 Something that snowballs (grows rapidly out of control). figuratively
"Representatives of the small airlines that felt betrayed by Brown's policy started a political snowball rolling, resulting in the Airmail Act of 1934..."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 ball of ice cream covered with coconut and usually chocolate sauce wordnet
- 7 A sex act involving passing ejaculated semen from one person's mouth to another's.
- 8 plant having heads of fragrant white trumpet-shaped flowers; grows in sandy arid regions wordnet
- 9 A type of ice dessert: a snow cone. US
- 10 A small cake, typically cream-filled and covered in chocolate icing and desiccated coconut.
"It didn't take long to eat a packetful of snowballs - they are simply delicious."
Verb
- 1 To rapidly grow out of proportion or control, from an initially smaller state. intransitive
"The high unemployment rates quickly snowballed into a major budget problem for the government."
- 2 increase or accumulate at a rapidly accelerating rate wordnet
- 3 To play at throwing snowballs. intransitive
- 4 throw snowballs at wordnet
- 5 To pelt with snowballs; to throw snowballs at. transitive
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To receive ejaculated semen in one's mouth, and to then pass it back and forth between one’s mouth and another person’s mouth. intransitive, slang, vulgar
Adjective
- 1 Of something with rapid growth, often uncontrolled. Compare snowball effect. not-comparable
"Scandal, with her, did not lose any of its usual snowball propensities, of gathering as it went."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname transferred from the nickname.
- 2 A locality in the Queanbeyan-Palerang council area, south eastern New South Wales, Australia.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The children were rolling a big snowball."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "snowball"?
Common synonyms include: abronia elliptica, accrue, accumulate, accumulation, acervation, advance.
How do you use "snowball" in a sentence?
The children were rolling a big snowball.
How do you pronounce "snowball"?
Pronounced /ˈsnəʊbɔːl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English snoweball, snoweballe, snaweballe, snayballe, equivalent to snow + ball. Cognate with Scots snawbaw, German Schneeball, Luxembourgish Schnéiball, Dutch sneeuwbal, Afrikaans sneeubal, Limburgish snieëbal, West Frisian sniebal, Saterland Frisian Sneebaal, Sneebal, Swedish snöboll, Elfdalian sniųoboll, Danish snebold, Norwegian Bokmål snøball, Norwegian Nynorsk snøball and Icelandic snjóbolti.
Etymology 2
From snow + ball, probably a nickname for someone who had a patch of white hair or a pale bald patch, amid dark hair.