snowball
UK: ˈsnəʊbɔːl | US: ˈsnoʊbɔːl
n. a ball of snow pressed or rolled together, often used for throwing in games
vi. to increase rapidly in size, intensity, or scope (e.g., a problem or situation)
vt. to cause something to grow or accumulate rapidly
The word "snowball" is a straightforward compound of "snow" (from Old English snāw, meaning frozen water crystals) and "ball" (from Old Norse bǫllr, meaning a spherical object). The term originally described a literal ball of snow, but by the 19th century, it gained figurative use to describe rapid growth or escalation—akin to how a snowball grows larger as it rolls downhill. This metaphorical extension highlights the word’s vivid imagery and logical progression from concrete to abstract meaning.
The children laughed as they threw snowballs at each other.
The protest began small but quickly snowballed into a nationwide movement.
She accidentally snowballed her minor mistake into a major problem.
The startup’s success snowballed after the first investor came on board.
A snowball fight broke out during the winter festival.