road roller
- noun
- /roʊd ˈroʊlər/
- Specialized
:
apisonadora
- A road roller passed by slowly, flattening the loose stones on the driveway.
Examples
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Many road rollers are used to flatten the ground.
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The road roller leveled the asphalt, leaving a perfectly smooth surface behind.
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Construction workers operated the road roller to compact the gravel before paving the new street.
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The road roller was parked near the construction site.
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The construction crew used a road roller to flatten the asphalt before paving the highway.
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After the new road was built, a road roller came to compress the surface for better durability.
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During the road repair, the road roller ensured the pavement was smooth and ready for traffic.
Synonyms
4
4.9
A large vehicle with heavy smooth rollers that flattens roads
A heavy round tool you roll to press and level a lawn
How Powerful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: a 'roller' (a cylinder or vehicle for flattening) applied to a 'road' clearly denotes a roller used on roads to compact surfaces. This noun-noun compound follows a common and predictable English pattern (and similar constructions exist in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Road roller shows a simple picture: road (what it works on) and roller (a big heavy wheel) that moves slowly over loose stones to 'flatten' and 'smooth' them. That's why road roller means 'a heavy vehicle used to compact and level roads'.