snowball

views updated May 17 2018

snow·ball / ˈsnōˌbôl/ • n. 1. a ball of packed snow, esp. one made for throwing at other people for fun. ∎ fig. a thing that grows rapidly in intensity or importance: the small speculator jumps in for a quick profit, adding his weight to the snowball, and the price goes up. ∎  a dessert resembling a ball of snow, esp. one containing or covered in ice cream.2. a cocktail containing gin, anisette, and cream.• v. 1. [tr.] throw snowballs at: I made sure the other kids stopped snowballing Celia.2. [intr.] increase rapidly in size, intensity, or importance: the campaign was snowballing.PHRASES: a snowball's chance (in hell) inf. no chance at all: the plan has a snowball's chance in hell of being accepted.