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View synonyms for steamroller

steamroller

[ steem-roh-ler ]

noun

  1. a heavy steam-powered vehicle having a roller for crushing, compacting, or leveling materials used for a road or the like.
  2. (not in technical use) any similar vehicle with a roller.
  3. an overpowering force, especially one that crushes all opposition with ruthless disregard for individual rights.


verb (used with object)

  1. to crush or flatten with a steamroller.
  2. to overcome with superior force:

    to steamroller the competition.

  3. to bring about the adoption of by overwhelming pressure:

    to steamroller the resolution through.

verb (used without object)

  1. to proceed with implacable force.

adjective

  1. suggestive of a steamroller; ruthlessly overpowering:

    steamroller tactics.

steamroller

/ ˈstiːmˌrəʊlə /

noun

    1. a steam-powered vehicle with heavy rollers at the front and rear used for compressing road surfaces during road-making
    2. another word for roadroller
    1. an overpowering force or a person with such force that overcomes all opposition
    2. ( as modifier )

      steamroller tactics

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


verb

  1. tr to crush (opposition, etc) by overpowering force
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of steamroller1

First recorded in 1865–70; steam + roller 1
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Example Sentences

I don’t know that people remember, not just our cultural role in it, but the roles of these systems of power, that the women were really crushed under like a steamroller.

The Donald Trump steamroller got run off the road last week, and getting back on track may not be easy.

His hard lines and angles project the arrogance of a confidence man, or as Arlyn Imberman puts it, “a steamroller.”

It was like getting a steamroller in motion to start Hickman.

Well, nobody can catch a sixty-horsepower motor-car with a ten-ton steamroller.

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