steamroller

[ steem-roh-ler ]

/ ˈstimˌroʊ lər /

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See synonyms for steamroller on Thesaurus.com

noun

a heavy steam-powered vehicle having a roller for crushing, compacting, or leveling materials used for a road or the like.

(not in technical use) any similar vehicle with a roller.

an overpowering force, especially one that crushes all opposition with ruthless disregard for individual rights.

verb (used with object)

to crush or flatten with a steamroller.

to overcome with superior force: to steamroller the competition.

to bring about the adoption of by overwhelming pressure: to steamroller the resolution through.

verb (used without object)

to proceed with implacable force.

adjective

suggestive of a steamroller; ruthlessly overpowering: steamroller tactics.

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Origin of steamroller

First recorded in 1865–70; steam + roller¹

Words nearby steamroller

steampipe, steam point, steampunk, steam reforming, steamroll, steamroller, steam room, steamship, steam shovel, steam table, steamtight

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use steamroller in a sentence

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.
What FX’s ‘Impeachment’ creators hope viewers will take away from the Clinton-Lewinsky saga: ‘We are all implicated by it’|Emily Yahr|September 2, 2021|Washington Post
The Donald Trump steamroller got run off the road last week, and getting back on track may not be easy.
The Trump Backlash Begins|Howard Kurtz|May 6, 2011|DAILY BEAST
His hard lines and angles project the arrogance of a confidence man, or as Arlyn Imberman puts it, “a steamroller.”
Bernie's John Hancock|Allan Dodds Frank|March 25, 2009|DAILY BEAST
It was like getting a steamroller in motion to start Hickman.
Pitching in a Pinch|Christy Mathewson

Well, nobody can catch a sixty-horsepower motor-car with a ten-ton steamroller.
Our Square and the People in It|Samuel Hopkins Adams

British Dictionary definitions for steamroller

steamroller

steam roller

/ (ˈstiːmˌrəʊlə) /

noun

a steam-powered vehicle with heavy rollers at the front and rear used for compressing road surfaces during road-making
another word for roadroller

an overpowering force or a person with such force that overcomes all opposition
(as modifier)steamroller tactics

verb

(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

steamroller

Origin of steamroller

Words nearby steamroller

Words related to steamroller

How to use steamroller in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for steamroller

steam roller