steamroller en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈstimˌroʊlɚ/ (General-American)
- (US) audio
Etymology
From steam + roller.
Meanings
- (historical) A steam-powered heavy road roller.
- (broadly, informal) Any heavy road roller.
-
(figuratively) Any seemingly irresistible force.
England's last line-out in World Cup rugby had been stolen by New Zealand in a dramatic conclusion to the final three years ago, but the driving maul remains a potent weapon and flanker Sadia Kabeya was decisive as England fired up the steamroller once more.
2025 August 22, Mike Henson, “England open World Cup with 11-try win over USA”, in BBC Sport:Well, I'm a steamroller, babe / I'm bound to roll all over you
1970, James Taylor, “Steamroller Blues”:
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(slang) A pipe, used for smoking cannabis, open at both ends and having a bowl near one end.
It's more about him testing his wares. He rolls joints. He doesn't own a bong, hookah, smoking pipe, chillum, vaporizer, scale, dugout system, grinder, or steamroller.
2005, Jane Smiley, John Kulka, Natalie Danford, editors, Best New American Voices 2006, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 242:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| steamrollers | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| steam roller | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Translations (22)
hu úthenger (steam-powered road roller) · mk ва́лјак (steam-powered road roller) · ko 증기 롤러 (steam-powered road roller) · fi höyryjyrä (steam-powered road roller) · fi höyryjyrä (figurative: irresistible force) · ar هَرَّاس (steam-powered road roller) · ca corró (steam-powered road roller) · fr rouleau compresseur (steam-powered road roller) · bg парен валяк (steam-powered road roller) · sv ångvält (figurative: irresistible force) · cs parní válec (steam-powered road roller) · sv ångvält (steam-powered road roller) · de Dampfwalze (steam-powered road roller) · hu gőzhenger (steam-powered road roller) · es apisonadora (steam-powered road roller) · pl walec parowy (steam-powered road roller) · tl pison (steam-powered road roller) · it rullo compressore (steam-powered road roller) · pl walec (figurative: irresistible force) · eo vaporcilindro (steam-powered road roller) · hu gőzhenger (figurative: irresistible force) · ja 蒸気ローラー (steam-powered road roller)