"snowball" meaning in English

See snowball in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ˈsnəʊbɔːl/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈsnoʊbɔl/ [General-American], /ˈsnoʊbɑl/ [Canada, cot-caught-merger] Audio: en-us-snowball.ogg [US]
enPR: snōʹbôl Etymology: 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 templates: {{der|en|enm|snoweball}} Middle English snoweball, {{m|enm|snoweballe}} snoweballe, {{m|enm|snaweballe}} snaweballe, {{m|enm|snayballe}} snayballe, {{compound|en|snow|ball}} snow + ball, {{cog|sco|snawbaw}} Scots snawbaw, {{cog|de|Schneeball}} German Schneeball, {{cog|lb|Schnéiball}} Luxembourgish Schnéiball, {{cog|nl|sneeuwbal}} Dutch sneeuwbal, {{cog|af|sneeubal}} Afrikaans sneeubal, {{cog|li|snieëbal}} Limburgish snieëbal, {{cog|fy|sniebal}} West Frisian sniebal, {{cog|stq|Sneebaal}} Saterland Frisian Sneebaal, {{m|stq|Sneebal}} Sneebal, {{cog|sv|snöboll}} Swedish snöboll, {{cog|ovd|sniųoboll}} Elfdalian sniųoboll, {{cog|da|snebold}} Danish snebold, {{cog|nb|snøball}} Norwegian Bokmål snøball, {{cog|nn|snøball}} Norwegian Nynorsk snøball, {{cog|is|snjóbolti}} Icelandic snjóbolti Head templates: {{en-adjective|-}} snowball (not comparable)
  1. Of something with rapid growth, often uncontrolled. Compare snowball effect. Tags: not-comparable
    Sense id: en-snowball-en-adj-cimNRamF

Noun

IPA: /ˈsnəʊbɔːl/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈsnoʊbɔl/ [General-American], /ˈsnoʊbɑl/ [Canada, cot-caught-merger] Audio: en-us-snowball.ogg [US] Forms: snowballs [plural]
enPR: snōʹbôl Etymology: 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 templates: {{der|en|enm|snoweball}} Middle English snoweball, {{m|enm|snoweballe}} snoweballe, {{m|enm|snaweballe}} snaweballe, {{m|enm|snayballe}} snayballe, {{compound|en|snow|ball}} snow + ball, {{cog|sco|snawbaw}} Scots snawbaw, {{cog|de|Schneeball}} German Schneeball, {{cog|lb|Schnéiball}} Luxembourgish Schnéiball, {{cog|nl|sneeuwbal}} Dutch sneeuwbal, {{cog|af|sneeubal}} Afrikaans sneeubal, {{cog|li|snieëbal}} Limburgish snieëbal, {{cog|fy|sniebal}} West Frisian sniebal, {{cog|stq|Sneebaal}} Saterland Frisian Sneebaal, {{m|stq|Sneebal}} Sneebal, {{cog|sv|snöboll}} Swedish snöboll, {{cog|ovd|sniųoboll}} Elfdalian sniųoboll, {{cog|da|snebold}} Danish snebold, {{cog|nb|snøball}} Norwegian Bokmål snøball, {{cog|nn|snøball}} Norwegian Nynorsk snøball, {{cog|is|snjóbolti}} Icelandic snjóbolti Head templates: {{en-noun}} snowball (plural snowballs)
  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. Categories (topical): Snow Translations (ball of snow): sneeubal (Afrikaans), ⁧كُرَة اَلثَّلْج⁩ (kurat aṯ-ṯalj) [feminine] (Arabic), ձնագնդիկ (jnagndik) (Armenian), elur-bola (Basque), снежна топка (snežna topka) [feminine] (Bulgarian), bola de neu [feminine] (Catalan), 雪球 (xuěqiú) (Chinese Mandarin), sněhová koule [feminine] (Czech), snebold [common-gender] (Danish), sneeuwbal [masculine] (Dutch), neĝobulo (Esperanto), kavablak (english: made in the hand) [neuter] (Faroese), kavabóltur (english: made by rolling a snowball around) [masculine] (Faroese), lumipallo (Finnish), boule de neige [feminine] (French), balle de neige [Quebec, feminine] (French), bóla de neve [masculine] (Galician), თოვლის გუნდა (tovlis gunda) (Georgian), გუნდა (gunda) (Georgian), Schneeball [masculine] (German), χιονόμπαλα (chionómpala) [feminine] (Greek), ⁧כדור שלג⁩ (kadúr shéleg) [masculine] (Hebrew), hógolyó (Hungarian), snjóbolti [masculine] (Icelandic), nivobulo (Ido), lumipallo (Ingrian), lumipamppu (Ingrian), palla di neve [feminine] (Italian), 雪玉 (yukidama) (alt: ゆきだま) (Japanese), 雪つぶて (yukitsubute) (alt: ゆきつぶて) (Japanese), 雪だるま (yukidaruma) (alt: ゆきだるま) (Japanese), 눈덩이 (nundeong'i) (Korean), snīga pyks (Latgalian), pila nivis [feminine] (Latin), globus nivis [masculine] (Latin), sniega pika (Latvian), sniego gniūžtė [feminine] (Lithuanian), Schnéiball [masculine] (Luxembourgish), Schnéiklatz [feminine] (Luxembourgish), boule dé né [feminine] (Norman), snøball [masculine] (Norwegian Bokmål), snøball [masculine] (Norwegian Nynorsk), ⁧قار طوپی⁩ (kar topu) (Ottoman Turkish), ⁧گلوله برف⁩ (golule-ye barf) (Persian), śnieżka [feminine] (Polish), kulka śnieżna [feminine] (Polish), kulka śniegowa [feminine] (Polish), bola de neve [feminine] (Portuguese), bulgăre de zăpadă [masculine] (Romanian), снежо́к (snežók) [masculine] (Russian), сне́жный ком (snéžnyj kom) (english: larger) [masculine] (Russian), gruda [feminine] (Serbo-Croatian), грудва [Cyrillic, feminine] (Serbo-Croatian), grudva [Roman, feminine] (Serbo-Croatian), bolo ya lehloa (Sotho), bola de nieve [feminine] (Spanish), snöboll [common-gender] (Swedish), kar topu (Turkish), сні́жка (snížka) [feminine] (Ukrainian)
    Sense id: en-snowball-en-noun-A2xRGXuB Disambiguation of Snow: 10 28 16 3 9 5 5 6 6 4 7 Disambiguation of 'ball of snow': 92 0 7 0 0 0
  2. A cocktail made from lemonade and advocaat. Translations (cocktail): lumipallo (Finnish), スノーボール (sunōbōru) (Japanese), снежо́к (snežók) [masculine] (Russian), сні́жка (snížka) [feminine] (Ukrainian)
    Sense id: en-snowball-en-noun-L228MoIR Disambiguation of 'cocktail': 0 100 0 0 0 0
  3. (figuratively) Something that snowballs (grows rapidly out of control). Tags: figuratively
    Sense id: en-snowball-en-noun-O100ARgF
  4. A sex act involving passing ejaculated semen from one person's mouth to another's. Categories (topical): Sex
    Sense id: en-snowball-en-noun-VwerMJbd Disambiguation of Sex: 17 6 7 3 36 6 9 4 9 2 3
  5. (US) A type of ice dessert. Tags: US
    Sense id: en-snowball-en-noun-tj1MhQg- Categories (other): American English
  6. A small cake, typically cream-filled and covered in chocolate icing and desiccated coconut.
    Sense id: en-snowball-en-noun-0EXiYi7P
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: a snowball’s chance, a snowball’s chance in an oven, a snowball’s chance in hell, cast snowballs, Chinese snowball, coconut snowball, dirty snowball, Mexican snowball, New York snowball, snowball bush, snowball cactus, Snowball Earth hypothesis, snowball effect, snowball fight, snowball hammer, snowball marches, snowball opacity, snowball prime, snowball sampling, snowball tree

Verb

IPA: /ˈsnəʊbɔːl/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈsnoʊbɔl/ [General-American], /ˈsnoʊbɑl/ [Canada, cot-caught-merger] Audio: en-us-snowball.ogg [US] Forms: snowballs [present, singular, third-person], snowballing [participle, present], snowballed [participle, past], snowballed [past]
enPR: snōʹbôl Etymology: 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 templates: {{der|en|enm|snoweball}} Middle English snoweball, {{m|enm|snoweballe}} snoweballe, {{m|enm|snaweballe}} snaweballe, {{m|enm|snayballe}} snayballe, {{compound|en|snow|ball}} snow + ball, {{cog|sco|snawbaw}} Scots snawbaw, {{cog|de|Schneeball}} German Schneeball, {{cog|lb|Schnéiball}} Luxembourgish Schnéiball, {{cog|nl|sneeuwbal}} Dutch sneeuwbal, {{cog|af|sneeubal}} Afrikaans sneeubal, {{cog|li|snieëbal}} Limburgish snieëbal, {{cog|fy|sniebal}} West Frisian sniebal, {{cog|stq|Sneebaal}} Saterland Frisian Sneebaal, {{m|stq|Sneebal}} Sneebal, {{cog|sv|snöboll}} Swedish snöboll, {{cog|ovd|sniųoboll}} Elfdalian sniųoboll, {{cog|da|snebold}} Danish snebold, {{cog|nb|snøball}} Norwegian Bokmål snøball, {{cog|nn|snøball}} Norwegian Nynorsk snøball, {{cog|is|snjóbolti}} Icelandic snjóbolti Head templates: {{en-verb}} snowball (third-person singular simple present snowballs, present participle snowballing, simple past and past participle snowballed)
  1. (intransitive) To rapidly grow out of proportion or control. Tags: intransitive Translations (rapidly grow out of proportion or control): paisua (Finnish), 雪だるま式に増える (yukidarumashiki ni fueru) (Japanese)
    Sense id: en-snowball-en-verb-MTack25I Disambiguation of 'rapidly grow out of proportion or control': 96 2 1 1
  2. (intransitive) To play at throwing snowballs. Tags: intransitive Translations (play at throwing snowballs): olla lumisotasilla (Finnish), leikkiä lumisotaa (Finnish), 雪合戦をする (yukigassen o suru) (Japanese), ha snöbollskrig (Swedish), gar zyňyşmak (Turkmen)
    Sense id: en-snowball-en-verb-yXNT6dch Disambiguation of 'play at throwing snowballs': 3 91 5 1
  3. (transitive) To pelt with snowballs; to throw snowballs at. Tags: transitive
    Sense id: en-snowball-en-verb-fgGfnIR1
  4. (intransitive, slang) 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. Tags: intransitive, slang
    Sense id: en-snowball-en-verb-z8uaDDUG
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: snowballing

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for snowball meaning in English (23.9kB)

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "a snowball’s chance"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "a snowball’s chance in an oven"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "a snowball’s chance in hell"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "cast snowballs"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "Chinese snowball"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "coconut snowball"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "dirty snowball"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "Mexican snowball"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "New York snowball"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "snowball bush"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "snowball cactus"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "Snowball Earth hypothesis"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "snowball effect"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "snowball fight"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "snowball hammer"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "snowball marches"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "snowball opacity"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "snowball prime"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "snowball sampling"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "snowball tree"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "snoweball"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English snoweball",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snoweballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snoweballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snaweballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snaweballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snayballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snayballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "snow",
        "3": "ball"
      },
      "expansion": "snow + ball",
      "name": "compound"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "snawbaw"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots snawbaw",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Schneeball"
      },
      "expansion": "German Schneeball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "Schnéiball"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish Schnéiball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "sneeuwbal"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch sneeuwbal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "af",
        "2": "sneeubal"
      },
      "expansion": "Afrikaans sneeubal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "li",
        "2": "snieëbal"
      },
      "expansion": "Limburgish snieëbal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "sniebal"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian sniebal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Sneebaal"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Sneebaal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Sneebal"
      },
      "expansion": "Sneebal",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "snöboll"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish snöboll",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ovd",
        "2": "sniųoboll"
      },
      "expansion": "Elfdalian sniųoboll",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "snebold"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish snebold",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "snøball"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål snøball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "snøball"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk snøball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "snjóbolti"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic snjóbolti",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "snowballs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "snowball (plural snowballs)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "snow‧ball"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "10 28 16 3 9 5 5 6 6 4 7",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Snow",
          "orig": "en:Snow",
          "parents": [
            "Water",
            "Weather",
            "Liquids",
            "Atmosphere",
            "Matter",
            "Nature",
            "Chemistry",
            "All topics",
            "Sciences",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "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."
      ],
      "id": "en-snowball-en-noun-A2xRGXuB",
      "links": [
        [
          "ball",
          "ball"
        ],
        [
          "snow",
          "snow"
        ],
        [
          "snowball fight",
          "snowball fight"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "af",
          "lang": "Afrikaans",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "sneeubal"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "kurat aṯ-ṯalj",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "⁧كُرَة اَلثَّلْج⁩"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "hy",
          "lang": "Armenian",
          "roman": "jnagndik",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "ձնագնդիկ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "eu",
          "lang": "Basque",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "elur-bola"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "snežna topka",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "снежна топка"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bola de neu"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "xuěqiú",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "雪球"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "sněhová koule"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "snebold"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "sneeuwbal"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "neĝobulo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "fo",
          "english": "made in the hand",
          "lang": "Faroese",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "kavablak"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "fo",
          "english": "made by rolling a snowball around",
          "lang": "Faroese",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "kavabóltur"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "lumipallo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "boule de neige"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "Quebec",
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "balle de neige"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "bóla de neve"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "ka",
          "lang": "Georgian",
          "roman": "tovlis gunda",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "თოვლის გუნდა"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "ka",
          "lang": "Georgian",
          "roman": "gunda",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "გუნდა"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Schneeball"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "chionómpala",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "χιονόμπαλα"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "roman": "kadúr shéleg",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "⁧כדור שלג⁩"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "hógolyó"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "snjóbolti"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "io",
          "lang": "Ido",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "nivobulo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "izh",
          "lang": "Ingrian",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "lumipallo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "izh",
          "lang": "Ingrian",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "lumipamppu"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "palla di neve"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "alt": "ゆきだま",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "yukidama",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "雪玉"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "alt": "ゆきつぶて",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "yukitsubute",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "雪つぶて"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "alt": "ゆきだるま",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "yukidaruma",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "雪だるま"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "nundeong'i",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "눈덩이"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "ltg",
          "lang": "Latgalian",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "snīga pyks"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "pila nivis"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "globus nivis"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "lv",
          "lang": "Latvian",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "sniega pika"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "lt",
          "lang": "Lithuanian",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "sniego gniūžtė"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "lb",
          "lang": "Luxembourgish",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Schnéiball"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "lb",
          "lang": "Luxembourgish",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Schnéiklatz"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "nrf",
          "lang": "Norman",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "boule dé né"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "snøball"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "nn",
          "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "snøball"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "ota",
          "lang": "Ottoman Turkish",
          "roman": "kar topu",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "⁧قار طوپی⁩"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "fa",
          "lang": "Persian",
          "roman": "golule-ye barf",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "⁧گلوله برف⁩"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "śnieżka"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "kulka śnieżna"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "kulka śniegowa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bola de neve"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "bulgăre de zăpadă"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "snežók",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "снежо́к"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "ru",
          "english": "larger",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "snéžnyj kom",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "сне́жный ком"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "gruda"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic",
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "грудва"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "Roman",
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "grudva"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "st",
          "lang": "Sotho",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "bolo ya lehloa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bola de nieve"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "snöboll"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "word": "kar topu"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 0 7 0 0 0",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "snížka",
          "sense": "ball of snow",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "сні́жка"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A cocktail made from lemonade and advocaat."
      ],
      "id": "en-snowball-en-noun-L228MoIR",
      "links": [
        [
          "cocktail",
          "cocktail"
        ],
        [
          "lemonade",
          "lemonade"
        ],
        [
          "advocaat",
          "advocaat"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0 0 0 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "cocktail",
          "word": "lumipallo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0 0 0 0",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "sunōbōru",
          "sense": "cocktail",
          "word": "スノーボール"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0 0 0 0",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "snežók",
          "sense": "cocktail",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "снежо́к"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0 0 0 0",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "snížka",
          "sense": "cocktail",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "сні́жка"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2005, Eldad Ben-Yosef, The Evolution of the US Airline Industry",
          "text": "Representatives of the small airlines that felt betrayed by Brown's policy started a political snowball rolling, resulting in the Airmail Act of 1934...",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Something that snowballs (grows rapidly out of control)."
      ],
      "id": "en-snowball-en-noun-O100ARgF",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figuratively) Something that snowballs (grows rapidly out of control)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "17 6 7 3 36 6 9 4 9 2 3",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Sex",
          "orig": "en:Sex",
          "parents": [
            "All topics",
            "Reproduction",
            "Fundamental",
            "Life",
            "Nature"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A sex act involving passing ejaculated semen from one person's mouth to another's."
      ],
      "id": "en-snowball-en-noun-VwerMJbd"
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A type of ice dessert."
      ],
      "id": "en-snowball-en-noun-tj1MhQg-",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US) A type of ice dessert."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "It didn't take long to eat a packetful of snowballs - they are simply delicious.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A small cake, typically cream-filled and covered in chocolate icing and desiccated coconut."
      ],
      "id": "en-snowball-en-noun-0EXiYi7P",
      "links": [
        [
          "chocolate",
          "chocolate"
        ],
        [
          "icing",
          "icing"
        ],
        [
          "desiccated coconut",
          "desiccated coconut"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnəʊbɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnoʊbɔl/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnoʊbɑl/",
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "cot-caught-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-snowball.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/86/En-us-snowball.ogg/En-us-snowball.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/En-us-snowball.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    },
    {
      "enpr": "snōʹbôl"
    }
  ],
  "word": "snowball"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "snoweball"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English snoweball",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snoweballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snoweballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snaweballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snaweballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snayballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snayballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "snow",
        "3": "ball"
      },
      "expansion": "snow + ball",
      "name": "compound"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "snawbaw"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots snawbaw",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Schneeball"
      },
      "expansion": "German Schneeball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "Schnéiball"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish Schnéiball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "sneeuwbal"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch sneeuwbal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "af",
        "2": "sneeubal"
      },
      "expansion": "Afrikaans sneeubal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "li",
        "2": "snieëbal"
      },
      "expansion": "Limburgish snieëbal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "sniebal"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian sniebal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Sneebaal"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Sneebaal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Sneebal"
      },
      "expansion": "Sneebal",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "snöboll"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish snöboll",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ovd",
        "2": "sniųoboll"
      },
      "expansion": "Elfdalian sniųoboll",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "snebold"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish snebold",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "snøball"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål snøball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "snøball"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk snøball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "snjóbolti"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic snjóbolti",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "snowball (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adjective"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "snow‧ball"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Of something with rapid growth, often uncontrolled. Compare snowball effect."
      ],
      "id": "en-snowball-en-adj-cimNRamF",
      "links": [
        [
          "growth",
          "growth"
        ],
        [
          "uncontrolled",
          "uncontrolled"
        ],
        [
          "snowball effect",
          "snowball effect"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnəʊbɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnoʊbɔl/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnoʊbɑl/",
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "cot-caught-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-snowball.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/86/En-us-snowball.ogg/En-us-snowball.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/En-us-snowball.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    },
    {
      "enpr": "snōʹbôl"
    }
  ],
  "word": "snowball"
}

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "snowballing"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "snoweball"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English snoweball",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snoweballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snoweballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snaweballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snaweballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snayballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snayballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "snow",
        "3": "ball"
      },
      "expansion": "snow + ball",
      "name": "compound"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "snawbaw"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots snawbaw",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Schneeball"
      },
      "expansion": "German Schneeball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "Schnéiball"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish Schnéiball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "sneeuwbal"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch sneeuwbal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "af",
        "2": "sneeubal"
      },
      "expansion": "Afrikaans sneeubal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "li",
        "2": "snieëbal"
      },
      "expansion": "Limburgish snieëbal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "sniebal"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian sniebal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Sneebaal"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Sneebaal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Sneebal"
      },
      "expansion": "Sneebal",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "snöboll"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish snöboll",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ovd",
        "2": "sniųoboll"
      },
      "expansion": "Elfdalian sniųoboll",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "snebold"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish snebold",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "snøball"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål snøball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "snøball"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk snøball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "snjóbolti"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic snjóbolti",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "snowballs",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "snowballing",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "snowballed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "snowballed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "snowball (third-person singular simple present snowballs, present participle snowballing, simple past and past participle snowballed)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "snow‧ball"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The high unemployment rates quickly snowballed into a major budget problem for the government.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "January 11 2023, Philip Haigh, “Comment: The worst chaos for 40 years”, in RAIL, number 974, page 4",
          "text": "There's a further knock-on effect from cancelling trains. It's not unusual for train crew diagrams to include a period 'on the cushions', travelling as a passenger to get staff from one train to the next. Cancel this train and it's likely the crew won't reach their next train, so this too is cancelled. Disruption snowballs and diagrams become harder to deliver.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To rapidly grow out of proportion or control."
      ],
      "id": "en-snowball-en-verb-MTack25I",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To rapidly grow out of proportion or control."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "96 2 1 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "rapidly grow out of proportion or control",
          "word": "paisua"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "96 2 1 1",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "yukidarumashiki ni fueru",
          "sense": "rapidly grow out of proportion or control",
          "word": "雪だるま式に増える"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "To play at throwing snowballs."
      ],
      "id": "en-snowball-en-verb-yXNT6dch",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To play at throwing snowballs."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "3 91 5 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "play at throwing snowballs",
          "word": "olla lumisotasilla"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 91 5 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "play at throwing snowballs",
          "word": "leikkiä lumisotaa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 91 5 1",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "yukigassen o suru",
          "sense": "play at throwing snowballs",
          "word": "雪合戦をする"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 91 5 1",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "play at throwing snowballs",
          "word": "ha snöbollskrig"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 91 5 1",
          "code": "tk",
          "lang": "Turkmen",
          "sense": "play at throwing snowballs",
          "word": "gar zyňyşmak"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "To pelt with snowballs; to throw snowballs at."
      ],
      "id": "en-snowball-en-verb-fgGfnIR1",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To pelt with snowballs; to throw snowballs at."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "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."
      ],
      "id": "en-snowball-en-verb-z8uaDDUG",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, slang) 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."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnəʊbɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnoʊbɔl/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnoʊbɑl/",
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "cot-caught-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-snowball.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/86/En-us-snowball.ogg/En-us-snowball.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/En-us-snowball.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    },
    {
      "enpr": "snōʹbôl"
    }
  ],
  "word": "snowball"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "en:Sex",
    "en:Snow"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "a snowball’s chance"
    },
    {
      "word": "a snowball’s chance in an oven"
    },
    {
      "word": "a snowball’s chance in hell"
    },
    {
      "word": "cast snowballs"
    },
    {
      "word": "Chinese snowball"
    },
    {
      "word": "coconut snowball"
    },
    {
      "word": "dirty snowball"
    },
    {
      "word": "Mexican snowball"
    },
    {
      "word": "New York snowball"
    },
    {
      "word": "snowball bush"
    },
    {
      "word": "snowball cactus"
    },
    {
      "word": "Snowball Earth hypothesis"
    },
    {
      "word": "snowball effect"
    },
    {
      "word": "snowball fight"
    },
    {
      "word": "snowball hammer"
    },
    {
      "word": "snowball marches"
    },
    {
      "word": "snowball opacity"
    },
    {
      "word": "snowball prime"
    },
    {
      "word": "snowball sampling"
    },
    {
      "word": "snowball tree"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "snoweball"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English snoweball",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snoweballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snoweballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snaweballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snaweballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snayballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snayballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "snow",
        "3": "ball"
      },
      "expansion": "snow + ball",
      "name": "compound"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "snawbaw"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots snawbaw",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Schneeball"
      },
      "expansion": "German Schneeball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "Schnéiball"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish Schnéiball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "sneeuwbal"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch sneeuwbal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "af",
        "2": "sneeubal"
      },
      "expansion": "Afrikaans sneeubal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "li",
        "2": "snieëbal"
      },
      "expansion": "Limburgish snieëbal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "sniebal"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian sniebal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Sneebaal"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Sneebaal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Sneebal"
      },
      "expansion": "Sneebal",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "snöboll"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish snöboll",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ovd",
        "2": "sniųoboll"
      },
      "expansion": "Elfdalian sniųoboll",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "snebold"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish snebold",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "snøball"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål snøball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "snøball"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk snøball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "snjóbolti"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic snjóbolti",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "snowballs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "snowball (plural snowballs)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "snow‧ball"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "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."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "ball",
          "ball"
        ],
        [
          "snow",
          "snow"
        ],
        [
          "snowball fight",
          "snowball fight"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A cocktail made from lemonade and advocaat."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "cocktail",
          "cocktail"
        ],
        [
          "lemonade",
          "lemonade"
        ],
        [
          "advocaat",
          "advocaat"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2005, Eldad Ben-Yosef, The Evolution of the US Airline Industry",
          "text": "Representatives of the small airlines that felt betrayed by Brown's policy started a political snowball rolling, resulting in the Airmail Act of 1934...",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Something that snowballs (grows rapidly out of control)."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figuratively) Something that snowballs (grows rapidly out of control)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A sex act involving passing ejaculated semen from one person's mouth to another's."
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "American English"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A type of ice dessert."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US) A type of ice dessert."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "It didn't take long to eat a packetful of snowballs - they are simply delicious.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A small cake, typically cream-filled and covered in chocolate icing and desiccated coconut."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "chocolate",
          "chocolate"
        ],
        [
          "icing",
          "icing"
        ],
        [
          "desiccated coconut",
          "desiccated coconut"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnəʊbɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnoʊbɔl/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnoʊbɑl/",
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "cot-caught-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-snowball.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/86/En-us-snowball.ogg/En-us-snowball.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/En-us-snowball.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    },
    {
      "enpr": "snōʹbôl"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "af",
      "lang": "Afrikaans",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "sneeubal"
    },
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "kurat aṯ-ṯalj",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "⁧كُرَة اَلثَّلْج⁩"
    },
    {
      "code": "hy",
      "lang": "Armenian",
      "roman": "jnagndik",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "ձնագնդիկ"
    },
    {
      "code": "eu",
      "lang": "Basque",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "elur-bola"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "snežna topka",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "снежна топка"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bola de neu"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "xuěqiú",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "雪球"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "sněhová koule"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "snebold"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "sneeuwbal"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "neĝobulo"
    },
    {
      "code": "fo",
      "english": "made in the hand",
      "lang": "Faroese",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "kavablak"
    },
    {
      "code": "fo",
      "english": "made by rolling a snowball around",
      "lang": "Faroese",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "kavabóltur"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "lumipallo"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "boule de neige"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "Quebec",
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "balle de neige"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "bóla de neve"
    },
    {
      "code": "ka",
      "lang": "Georgian",
      "roman": "tovlis gunda",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "თოვლის გუნდა"
    },
    {
      "code": "ka",
      "lang": "Georgian",
      "roman": "gunda",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "გუნდა"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Schneeball"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "chionómpala",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "χιονόμπαλα"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "roman": "kadúr shéleg",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "⁧כדור שלג⁩"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "hógolyó"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "snjóbolti"
    },
    {
      "code": "io",
      "lang": "Ido",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "nivobulo"
    },
    {
      "code": "izh",
      "lang": "Ingrian",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "lumipallo"
    },
    {
      "code": "izh",
      "lang": "Ingrian",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "lumipamppu"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "palla di neve"
    },
    {
      "alt": "ゆきだま",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "yukidama",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "雪玉"
    },
    {
      "alt": "ゆきつぶて",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "yukitsubute",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "雪つぶて"
    },
    {
      "alt": "ゆきだるま",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "yukidaruma",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "雪だるま"
    },
    {
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "nundeong'i",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "눈덩이"
    },
    {
      "code": "ltg",
      "lang": "Latgalian",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "snīga pyks"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "pila nivis"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "globus nivis"
    },
    {
      "code": "lv",
      "lang": "Latvian",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "sniega pika"
    },
    {
      "code": "lt",
      "lang": "Lithuanian",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "sniego gniūžtė"
    },
    {
      "code": "lb",
      "lang": "Luxembourgish",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Schnéiball"
    },
    {
      "code": "lb",
      "lang": "Luxembourgish",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Schnéiklatz"
    },
    {
      "code": "nrf",
      "lang": "Norman",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "boule dé né"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "snøball"
    },
    {
      "code": "nn",
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "snøball"
    },
    {
      "code": "ota",
      "lang": "Ottoman Turkish",
      "roman": "kar topu",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "⁧قار طوپی⁩"
    },
    {
      "code": "fa",
      "lang": "Persian",
      "roman": "golule-ye barf",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "⁧گلوله برف⁩"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "śnieżka"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "kulka śnieżna"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "kulka śniegowa"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bola de neve"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "bulgăre de zăpadă"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "snežók",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "снежо́к"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "english": "larger",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "snéžnyj kom",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "сне́жный ком"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "gruda"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic",
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "грудва"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "Roman",
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "grudva"
    },
    {
      "code": "st",
      "lang": "Sotho",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "bolo ya lehloa"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bola de nieve"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "snöboll"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "word": "kar topu"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "snížka",
      "sense": "ball of snow",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "сні́жка"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "cocktail",
      "word": "lumipallo"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "sunōbōru",
      "sense": "cocktail",
      "word": "スノーボール"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "snežók",
      "sense": "cocktail",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "снежо́к"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "snížka",
      "sense": "cocktail",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "сні́жка"
    }
  ],
  "word": "snowball"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "en:Sex",
    "en:Snow"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "snoweball"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English snoweball",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snoweballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snoweballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snaweballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snaweballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snayballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snayballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "snow",
        "3": "ball"
      },
      "expansion": "snow + ball",
      "name": "compound"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "snawbaw"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots snawbaw",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Schneeball"
      },
      "expansion": "German Schneeball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "Schnéiball"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish Schnéiball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "sneeuwbal"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch sneeuwbal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "af",
        "2": "sneeubal"
      },
      "expansion": "Afrikaans sneeubal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "li",
        "2": "snieëbal"
      },
      "expansion": "Limburgish snieëbal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "sniebal"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian sniebal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Sneebaal"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Sneebaal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Sneebal"
      },
      "expansion": "Sneebal",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "snöboll"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish snöboll",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ovd",
        "2": "sniųoboll"
      },
      "expansion": "Elfdalian sniųoboll",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "snebold"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish snebold",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "snøball"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål snøball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "snøball"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk snøball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "snjóbolti"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic snjóbolti",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "snowball (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adjective"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "snow‧ball"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Of something with rapid growth, often uncontrolled. Compare snowball effect."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "growth",
          "growth"
        ],
        [
          "uncontrolled",
          "uncontrolled"
        ],
        [
          "snowball effect",
          "snowball effect"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnəʊbɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnoʊbɔl/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnoʊbɑl/",
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "cot-caught-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-snowball.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/86/En-us-snowball.ogg/En-us-snowball.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/En-us-snowball.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    },
    {
      "enpr": "snōʹbôl"
    }
  ],
  "word": "snowball"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "en:Sex",
    "en:Snow"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "snowballing"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "snoweball"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English snoweball",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snoweballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snoweballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snaweballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snaweballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "snayballe"
      },
      "expansion": "snayballe",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "snow",
        "3": "ball"
      },
      "expansion": "snow + ball",
      "name": "compound"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "snawbaw"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots snawbaw",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Schneeball"
      },
      "expansion": "German Schneeball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "Schnéiball"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish Schnéiball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "sneeuwbal"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch sneeuwbal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "af",
        "2": "sneeubal"
      },
      "expansion": "Afrikaans sneeubal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "li",
        "2": "snieëbal"
      },
      "expansion": "Limburgish snieëbal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "sniebal"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian sniebal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Sneebaal"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Sneebaal",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Sneebal"
      },
      "expansion": "Sneebal",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "snöboll"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish snöboll",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ovd",
        "2": "sniųoboll"
      },
      "expansion": "Elfdalian sniųoboll",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "snebold"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish snebold",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "snøball"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål snøball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "snøball"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk snøball",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "snjóbolti"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic snjóbolti",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "snowballs",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "snowballing",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "snowballed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "snowballed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "snowball (third-person singular simple present snowballs, present participle snowballing, simple past and past participle snowballed)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "snow‧ball"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The high unemployment rates quickly snowballed into a major budget problem for the government.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "January 11 2023, Philip Haigh, “Comment: The worst chaos for 40 years”, in RAIL, number 974, page 4",
          "text": "There's a further knock-on effect from cancelling trains. It's not unusual for train crew diagrams to include a period 'on the cushions', travelling as a passenger to get staff from one train to the next. Cancel this train and it's likely the crew won't reach their next train, so this too is cancelled. Disruption snowballs and diagrams become harder to deliver.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To rapidly grow out of proportion or control."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To rapidly grow out of proportion or control."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English intransitive verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To play at throwing snowballs."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To play at throwing snowballs."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To pelt with snowballs; to throw snowballs at."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To pelt with snowballs; to throw snowballs at."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English slang"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "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."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, slang) 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."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnəʊbɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnoʊbɔl/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsnoʊbɑl/",
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "cot-caught-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-snowball.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/86/En-us-snowball.ogg/En-us-snowball.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/En-us-snowball.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    },
    {
      "enpr": "snōʹbôl"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "rapidly grow out of proportion or control",
      "word": "paisua"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "yukidarumashiki ni fueru",
      "sense": "rapidly grow out of proportion or control",
      "word": "雪だるま式に増える"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "play at throwing snowballs",
      "word": "olla lumisotasilla"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "play at throwing snowballs",
      "word": "leikkiä lumisotaa"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "yukigassen o suru",
      "sense": "play at throwing snowballs",
      "word": "雪合戦をする"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "play at throwing snowballs",
      "word": "ha snöbollskrig"
    },
    {
      "code": "tk",
      "lang": "Turkmen",
      "sense": "play at throwing snowballs",
      "word": "gar zyňyşmak"
    }
  ],
  "word": "snowball"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-03-12 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-03-01 using wiktextract (68773ab and 5f6ddbb). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.