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steamroller

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To proceed ruthlessly against all opposition as if with an overwhelming force.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

steemrohler

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈstimɹoʊlɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Crush with a steamroller as if to level

  2. Make level or flat with a steamroller

  3. transitive

    To level a road using a steamroller.

  4. transitivefigurative

    To proceed ruthlessly against all opposition as if with an overwhelming force.

  5. Proceed with great force

    “The new teacher tends to steamroller.”

noun

  1. by extensioninformal

    Any heavy road roller.

  2. figurative

    Any seemingly irresistible force.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To proceed ruthlessly against all opposition as if with an overwhelming force.

Used this way, steamroller is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

steamroller tacticssteamroller effectsteamroller bluesgiant steamroller

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.