steamroller
steamroller Lexical Profile
steamroller Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A heavy, slow-moving construction vehicle equipped with large wide drums or cylinders, used for flattening and compacting asphalt, gravel, or soil during road building (historically powered by a steam engine).
"The road crew used a heavy steamroller to smooth out the freshly laid asphalt along the highway."
An overwhelming, relentless force, organization, or course of action that crushes opposition or obstacles without regard for others.
"The well-funded political campaign operated like a steamroller, sweeping aside every rival candidate in the primary."
• verb
To overwhelm, defeat, or force someone or something into submission through ruthless, overbearing, or relentless pressure.
"The committee chairperson tried to steamroller the dissenting members into approving the budget without a debate."
To flatten, smooth, or compact a surface using a heavy roller.
"Workers spent the morning preparing and steamrollering the gravel driveway before the paving trucks arrived."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the mid-19th century as a compound of 'steam' and 'roller', referring to the early road-building machines powered by steam engines before the adoption of internal combustion.