bulldoze

bulldoze
/bool"dohz'/, v., bulldozed, bulldozing.
v.t.
1. to clear, level, or reshape the contours of (land) by or as if by using a bulldozer: to bulldoze a building site.
2. to clear away by or as if by using a bulldozer: to bulldoze trees from a site.
3. to coerce or intimidate, as with threats.
v.i.
4. to use a bulldozer: To clear this rubble away we may have to bulldoze.
5. to advance or force one's way in the manner of a bulldozer.
[1875-80, Amer.; orig. uncert.; the notion that it represents a v. use of bull dose, i.e., a dose fit for a bull, is prob. specious; defs. 1, 2, 4, 5 are back formations from BULLDOZER tractor]
Syn. 3. browbeat, cow, bully, hector; tyrannize.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • bulldoze — [v1] demolish drive, elbow, flatten, force, jostle, level, press, propel, push, raze, shove, thrust; concepts 208,252 Ant. build, construct bulldoze [v2] bully, intimidate bludgeon, bluster, browbeat, coerce, cow, dragoon, harass, hector; concept …   New thesaurus

  • Bulldoze — Bull doze , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Bulldozed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Bulldozing}.] To intimidate; to restrain or coerce by intimidation or violence; used originally of the intimidation of negro voters, in Louisiana. [Slang, U.S.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bulldoze — (v.) 1876, originally a noun, bulldose a severe beating or lashing, lit. a dose fit for a bull, a slang word referring to the intimidation beating of black voters (by either blacks or whites) in the chaotic 1876 U.S. presidential election. As a… …   Etymology dictionary

  • bulldoze — bully, browbeat, *intimidate, cow Analogous words: *threaten, menace: terrorize, terrify, *frighten: *worry, harass, harry Contrasted words: cajole, wheedle, blandish, *coax …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • bulldoze — ► VERB 1) clear or destroy with a bulldozer. 2) informal use force to deal with or coerce. ORIGIN from BULL(Cf. ↑bull) + doze, an alteration of the noun DOSE(Cf. ↑dose) …   English terms dictionary

  • bulldoze — ☆ bulldoze [bool′dōz΄ ] vt. bulldozed, bulldozing [< n. bulldose, a severe beating < bull (Botany Bay slang), a flogging of 75 lashes + DOSE] 1. Informal to force or frighten by threatening; intimidate; bully 2. to move, make level, dig out …   English World dictionary

  • bulldoze — [[t]b ʊldoʊz[/t]] bulldozes, bulldozing, bulldozed 1) VERB If people bulldoze something such as a building, they knock it down using a bulldozer. [V P] She defeated developers who wanted to bulldoze her home to build a supermarket. 2) VERB If… …   English dictionary

  • bulldoze — v. to bulldoze through (they bulldozed their way through all obstacles) * * * [ bʊldəʊz] to bulldoze through (they bulldozed their way through all obstacles) …   Combinatory dictionary

  • bulldoze — verb 1) they plan to bulldoze the park Syn: demolish, knock down, tear down, pull down, flatten, level, raze, clear 2) he bulldozed his way through Syn: force, push, shove, barge …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • bulldoze — UK [ˈbʊlˌdəʊz] / US [ˈbʊlˌdoʊz] verb Word forms bulldoze : present tense I/you/we/they bulldoze he/she/it bulldozes present participle bulldozing past tense bulldozed past participle bulldozed 1) [intransitive/transitive] to clear an area by… …   English dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”