steam·roll·er
ˈstēm-ˌrō-lər 
1
: a steam-driven road roller
broadly
: road roller
2
: a crushing force especially when ruthlessly applied to overcome opposition
steam·roll·er
ˈstēm-ˌrō-lər
variants
or steamroll
steamrollered or steamrolled; steamrollering or steamrolling; steamrollers or steamrolls
1
: to overwhelm usually by greatly superior force
steamroller the opposition
2
: to bring or advance by overwhelming force or pressure
steamrollered the bill through the legislature
: to move or proceed with irresistible force
Examples of steamroller in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
David Zane Mairowitz, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2025
O’Neill directs the steamroller of tragedy right at the characters and then — atypically, delightfully — diverts it.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 14 Dec. 2025
John Deffenbaugh, Denver Post, 22 July 2025
In the four back-to-back title-winning campaigns that preceded this season’s collapse, rivals often complained about a feeling of inevitability that each year City would just click into gear at some point and steamroller the league.
—Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for steamroller
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Noun
This is a personal dilemma for me, never having lost an ounce of my lifelong political combat against the reactionary steamroller.
—David Zane Mairowitz, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2025
O’Neill directs the steamroller of tragedy right at the characters and then — atypically, delightfully — diverts it.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 14 Dec. 2025
Verb
The national, state, and local design guidelines have been steamrollered – or perhaps shredded by the metaphorical bobsled hurtling down its track.
—John Deffenbaugh, Denver Post, 22 July 2025
In the four back-to-back title-winning campaigns that preceded this season’s collapse, rivals often complained about a feeling of inevitability that each year City would just click into gear at some point and steamroller the league.
—Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for steamroller
Cite this Entry
“Steamroller.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/steamroller. Accessed 3 Jan. 2026.
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