bulldozer
noun
- heavy machine equipped with a substantial metal plate
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈbʊlˌdoʊzɚ/ / /ˈbʊlˌdəʊzə/
noun
Etymology: Originally bull-dozer (1875, Louisiana, US), in the bullier and terrorizer sense; bulldoze + -er. The name for the earthmoving machine came later, figuratively, from that sense.
- A tractor with caterpillar tracks and an attached blade for pushing earth and building debris for coarse preliminary surface grading, demolishing building structures, etc.
“The bulldozer is a caterpillar tractor on the front of which is mounted a heavy steel blade which can be moved up and down by hydraulic gear. By sheer brute force it can push down trees and hedges, remove obstructions (including light brickwork) and level and consolidate newly-tipped banks.”
“More than 100 provincial and municipal firefighters were brought in, with helicopters and aircraft used to drop water and fire retardant, while bulldozers were digging firebreaks.”
- One who bulldozes.
- A member of a self-identified group of white US Southerners who colluded to influence outcomes of post-Reconstruction elections by intimidating, coercing and bullying black voters and legislators, including burning down houses and churches, flogging and murdering opponents.
- A bully; an overbearing individual.
verb
Etymology: Originally bull-dozer (1875, Louisiana, US), in the bullier and terrorizer sense; bulldoze + -er. The name for the earthmoving machine came later, figuratively, from that sense.
- To bulldoze (demolish with a bulldozer).
- To bulldoze (push through forcefully).
“They bulldozered through the crowd.”