steamroller
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
steamrollers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
steamrollered,
past participle, past
-
steamrollering
present participle
-
to crush or flatten with a steamroller.
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to overcome with superior force.
to steamroller the competition.
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to bring about the adoption of by overwhelming pressure.
to steamroller the resolution through.
verb (used without object)
-
steamrollers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
steamrollered,
past participle, past
-
steamrollering
present participle
adjective
noun
-
-
a steam-powered vehicle with heavy rollers at the front and rear used for compressing road surfaces during road-making
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another word for roadroller
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-
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an overpowering force or a person with such force that overcomes all opposition
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( as modifier )
steamroller tactics
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verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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steamrollersimple
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steamrollerssimple
-
have steamrolleredperfect
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has steamrolleredperfect
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am steamrolleringprogressive
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are steamrolleringprogressive
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is steamrolleringprogressive
-
have been steamrolleringperfect progressive
-
has been steamrolleringperfect progressive
Past
-
steamrolleredsimple
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had steamrolleredperfect
-
was steamrolleringprogressive
-
were steamrolleringprogressive
-
had been steamrolleringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of steamroller
Explanation
One of the large vehicles you might see on a construction site or road crew is a steamroller, which uses a large, heavy cylinder to smooth the surface of a road or other paved area. Be sure to stay out of its way! Many people use the word steamroller to mean "road roller," although strictly speaking that's incorrect, since these modern vehicles aren't powered by a steam engine. A true steamroller had a smokebox and chimney, and the steam it produced enabled it to move forward as it rolled and compressed the surface below. Used figuratively, steamroller means something or someone that moves forward relentlessly, without regard for anyone who happens to be in the way.
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.
See Examples For:
Leeds Rhinos stayed top of Super League as they ran in eight tries to steamroller Catalans Dragons at Headingley.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
And the Balkan Five have gone from niche college hoops phenomenon to March Madness steamroller.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
"It's been the steamroller all season. That's the one thing you could take to the bank," said Davis.
From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026
Awards season steamroller “ Oppenheimer ” is among the nominees for the PGA’s top award to be handed out later Sunday night.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 25, 2024
The small personal satisfaction he felt came from his having passed one of the most grueling tests of his career by showing the courage “to ‘stand up in meeting’ and say ‘No’ to a steamroller.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
In Ganim, about two dozen pre-fabricated homes have already been installed, while steamrollers and other construction machinery busily created new space for future houses on the hillside on Thursday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
There’s some nostalgia involved, sure, tied up with memories of dancing with your goth girlfriends at New Wave Dance Night, but all three of those songs on a random Friday in Ohio were total steamrollers.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2025
Scabrous, painful and true, it tracks a high school senior who, in his ambitions to be a comic-book artist of the highest, purest order, steamrollers over nearly everyone in his life.
From New York Times ● Aug. 25, 2022
COVID-19 has also stopped the steamrollers state officials thought would be in high gear by now after approving Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois capital improvement plan last spring.
From Washington Times ● May 22, 2020
In fact, our charter has very much in mind keeping majorities from turning into steamrollers.
From Fox News ● Feb. 18, 2019
But President Trump, Taylor Swift and the rest left New Orleans wondering what had happened to two-time champion Kansas City Chiefs as they were steamrollered by the Philadelphia Eagles.
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2025
And believe me, I should have known better than to get steamrollered into a bad trade.
From Slate ● Feb. 19, 2024
MacMichael steamrollered his opponents with a clear, concise argument.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 15, 2023
That whole PR edifice came crashing down Sunday, when Welker got steamrollered by Donald Trump on national television.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2023
However much Jack wants to believe that Terry’s fine and dandy with this plan, Molly knows that he steamrollered her into it.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
Generative AI is steamrollering the once booming industry known as software-as-a-service, or SaaS, where customers access software over the internet, typically on a subscription basis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Yes, England won comfortably and without ever losing control to extend their record unbeaten run to 36 Tests, but this wasn't the steamrollering many expected, with Wales - to use Mitchell's word - "surprising" them.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
The stretch includes a second-half steamrollering of ASU in the middle of last season that gave Utah control of the South division.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2022
East and they played like it, steamrollering the Giants, 35-17.
From New York Times ● Sep. 9, 2019
The embryonic Murray was all talent, all potential; but somehow not quite cut from the same physical stuff as your average steamrollering alpha athlete.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 11, 2019
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.
