steam roller
Asphalt smoothing machine
A steam roller is a heavy vehicle with large cylindrical wheels, originally steam-powered, used to flatten and compact road surfaces.
The figurative sense dominates modern usage: to steamroll is to crush opposition or force something through without regard for objections: The bill was steamrolled through committee.
As a noun, a steamroller is an overwhelming force or person who flattens resistance.
Also spelled as one word: steamroller.
- roadworkStreet repair activities
- compactionReducing volume through pressure
- pavementHard road covering
- asphaltPetroleum-based paving material
- constructionProcess of building something
vintage vehicles · industrial revolution · vehicle · mechanical · coal-fired · caterpillar · infrastructure · crushing · flatten · flat as a pancake · brute force · mechanical engineering · industrial machinery · iron horse · flywheel · gear systems · power train · juggernaut
- rollersbrayer, steamroller
- construction equipmentbackhoe, bulldozer, excavator, crane, forklift
- enginesdiesel engine, gasoline engine, car engine, truck engine, piston engine
- steamsteamboat, steamship, locomotive, boiler, sauna
- heavy equipmentexcavator, excavators, bulldozers, loader, backhoe
- steam powerboiler, boilers, locomotive, locomotives, James Watt
steam rollerpushover
Easily defeated opponent
doormat · weakling · yielder · accommodator · peacemaker
steam rollerstalled vehicle
Transportation that stopped working
roadblock · obstacle · bottleneck · dead stop · gridlock
steam rollerexcavator
Machine that digs earth
bulldozer · crane · jackhammer · wrecking ball · backhoe