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. 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
2. 1. an overpowering force or a person with such force that overcomes all opposition
   2. ( as modifier )

      steamroller tactics

verb

1. tr to crush (opposition, etc) by overpowering force

Word History and Origins

Origin of steamroller¹

First recorded in 1865–70; steam + roller ¹

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.

From Washington Post

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg