noun · rare

steamroller

steamroller · steamrollers

A steam-powered heavy road rollerA steam-powered heavy road roller.

US/ˈstimˌroʊlɚ/

» The steamroller can only move slowly.

Die Dampfwalze kann sich nur langsam bewegen.

Meaning

4 senses

(historical)A steam-powered heavy road roller.
(broadly, informal)Any heavy road roller.
Dampfwalze
(figuratively)Any seemingly irresistible force.
(slang)A pipe, used for smoking cannabis, open at both ends and having a bowl near one end.

More definitions

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

2 sentences

The steamroller can only move slowly.
deDie Dampfwalze kann sich nur langsam bewegen.
CC BY · Tatoeba · sundown · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
Horses used to pull road-rollers, but the steamroller arrived with the invention of the steam engine.
CC BY · Tatoeba · fcbond · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem

5 languages

Deutsch

steam-powered road roller:

From steam + roller.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

plural: steamrollers

Singular	steamroller
Plural	steamrollers

regular

2 synonyms

Close in meaning

vehicle equipped with heavy wide smooth rollers for compacting roads and pavements:road roller
a massive inexorable force that seems to crush everything in its way:juggernaut

1 related words