bulldoze
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to use a bulldozer.
to clear this rubble away we may have to bulldoze.
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to advance or force one's way in the manner of a bulldozer.
verb
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to move, demolish, flatten, etc, with a bulldozer
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informal to force; push
he bulldozed his way through the crowd
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informal to intimidate or coerce
Usage
What does bulldoze mean? To bulldoze is to clear, level, or push debris away from an area using a bulldozer—a large tractor that has a big, blade-like shovel at the front and moves around using metal tracks over wheels. Sometimes, bulldoze can mean to clear an area in this way even if a bulldozer isn’t used. Bulldoze can also be used figuratively, meaning to move forward or advance in an aggressive or forceful way. This can be physical, as in He just bulldozed his way to the goal by pushing through three defenders, or through an aggressive attitude, as in Instead of cooperating with his colleagues, he just bulldozes his way through tasks until he gets what he wants. This sense of the word likens such behavior to the way that a bulldozer powerfully clears everything in its path. However, before its association with the construction vehicle, bulldoze originally meant to intimidate, such as with threats of violence. Early records of this use refer to violent attacks, especially whipping, against African Americans by white people in the Southern United States. However, the origin of these words, and how bulldozer came to be a name for a type of tractor, is ultimately unclear. The verb doze can be used as a short way of saying bulldoze, as in We need to doze this whole area or She dozes through every obstacle that’s put in her way.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bulldozesimple
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bulldozessimple
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have bulldozedperfect
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has bulldozedperfect
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am bulldozingprogressive
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are bulldozingprogressive
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is bulldozingprogressive
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have been bulldozingperfect progressive
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has been bulldozingperfect progressive
Past
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bulldozedsimple
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had bulldozedperfect
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was bulldozingprogressive
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were bulldozingprogressive
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had been bulldozingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bulldoze
1875–80, origin uncertain; the notion that it represents a verb use of bull dose, i.e., a dose fit for a bull, is probably without merit; bulldoze defs. 1, 2, 4, 5 are back formations from bulldozer in the sense “tractor”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
People in Guam and the Northern Marianas moved to emergency evacuation centers and made last-minute preparations on Sunday, hours before a "super typhoon" was projected to bulldoze through the US Pacific territories.
From Barron's • Jul. 5, 2026
"If the government decides, very quickly, to bulldoze the Statue of Liberty... nothing can be done?" the judge asked.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
He gets very enthusiastic about what if we look at that hypocrisy and just bulldoze over it.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
He also said Lively and her team had "attempted to bulldoze reputations and livelihoods for heinously selfish reasons".
From BBC • Jan. 16, 2025
My father was later ordered by the steel company to bulldoze them out, but he never did.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
