Definition

1. Noun:

   • A heavy vehicle with wide rollers: A large, powerful vehicle equipped with heavy, wide, smooth rollers used for compacting and leveling surfaces, especially during road or pavement construction.
   • An overwhelming, unstoppable force: A metaphor for a person, group, or process that seems to crush all opposition or obstacles through sheer, relentless power or pressure.

2. Verb:

   • To flatten or level with a steamroller: To use a steamroller vehicle to compress and smooth a surface.
   • To overwhelm or crush opposition: To defeat, force through, or overpower people, ideas, or resistance completely and decisively, often without regard for subtlety or opposition.
   • To proceed with relentless force: To advance or act in a very forceful, determined, and often insensitive manner.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The city sent a steamroller to compact the new asphalt on the highway.
  • The company's legal team was a steamroller, crushing every small competitor in court.

• Verb:

  • The crew will steamroller the gravel path to make it firm and even.
  • The majority party tried to steamroller the controversial bill through the legislature.
  • He has a tendency to steamroller in meetings, not letting anyone else speak.

Advanced Usage

• "to steamroller over someone/something": To ignore or completely overwhelm someone's feelings, opinions, or rights through forceful action.
  • The new management just steamrollered over the staff's concerns about the policy change.

Variants and Related Words

• Steamroll (verb): A more common variant of the verb "steamroller," with identical meanings related to crushing opposition or leveling surfaces.
  • They attempted to steamroll the proposal before anyone could read it.

Synonyms

• Noun (vehicle): Road roller, compactor.
• Noun (force): Juggernaut, bulldozer (metaphorical).
• Verb (to crush): Bulldoze, overpower, overwhelm, crush, trample.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Steamroller over/through: To proceed forcefully, ignoring obstacles or opposition.
  • The CEO steamrollered through the objections and implemented the new system immediately.

Related Idioms

• Like a steamroller: Behaving or proceeding with immense, unstoppable force.
  • His campaign moved forward like a steamroller, gaining momentum every day.

Noun

1. vehicle equipped with heavy wide smooth rollers for compacting roads and pavements
2. a massive inexorable force that seems to crush everything in its way

Verb

1. make level or flat with a steamroller
   • steamroll the roads
2. overwhelm by using great force
   • steamroller the opposition
3. crush with a steamroller as if to level
   • steamroller the road
4. proceed with great force
   • The new teacher tends to steamroller
5. bring to a specified state by overwhelming force or pressure
   • The Senator steamrollered the bill to defeat