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snowball
7 dictionary results for: snowball
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
snow·ball       [snoh-bawl] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.a ball of snow pressed or rolled together, as for throwing.
2.any of several shrubs belonging to the genus Viburnum, of the honeysuckle family, having large clusters of white, sterile flowers.
3.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.
4.a scoop or ball of ice cream covered with shredded coconut and usually chocolate sauce.
–verb (used with object)
5.to throw snowballs at.
6.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)
7.to grow or become larger, greater, more intense, etc., at an accelerating rate.
[Origin: 1350–1400; ME (n.); see snow, ball1]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
snow·ball       (snō'bôl')  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
    1. A mass of soft, wet snow packed into a ball that can be thrown, as in play.
    2. Chiefly Southern U.S. A cup of crushed or shaved ice flavored with colored syrup.
  2. Any of several plants having rounded clusters of white flowers, as the guelder rose and certain species of the arrowwood.

v.   snow·balled, snow·ball·ing, snow·balls

v.   intr.
  1. To grow rapidly in significance, importance, or size: problems that snowballed by the hour.
  2. To throw snowballs.

v.   tr.
  1. To cause to grow or increase rapidly.
  2. To throw snowballs at.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
snowball  (n.)
c.1400, from snow (n.) + ball (n.). The verb meaning "to make snowballs" is from 1684; sense of "to throw snowballs at" (someone) is from 1850. Meaning "to increase rapidly" is attested from 1929, though the image of a snowball increasing in size as it rolls along had been used since at least 1613, and a noun sense of "a pyramid scheme" is attested from 1892. Snowball's chance (in hell) is first recorded 1934.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
snowball

noun
1. plant having heads of fragrant white trumpet-shaped flowers; grows in sandy arid regions 
2. ball of ice cream covered with coconut and usually chocolate sauce 
3. ball of crushed ice with fruit syrup 
4. snow pressed into a ball for throwing (playfully) 

verb
1. increase or accumulate at a rapidly accelerating rate 
2. throw snowballs at 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Snowball

Snow"ball`\, n. 1. A round mass of snow pressed or roller together, or anything resembling such a mass.

2. (Bot.) The Guelder-rose.

Snowball tree (Bot.), the Guelder-rose.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Snowball

Snow"ball`\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Snowballed; p. pr. & vb. n. Snowballing.] To pelt with snowballs; to throw snowballs at.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Snowball

Snow"ball`\, v. i. To throw snowballs.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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