bulldozer
n.n. a large, heavy machine with a flat metal plate at the front that pushes dirt or debris. You use it to clear land or build roads.
n. a large, heavy machine equipped with a flat, steel blade used for pushing earth, rubble, or other materials. Often used metaphorically to describe a person or force that removes obstacles with great force.
The bulldozer cleared the land for the new house.
The construction crew used a bulldozer to level the uneven ground before laying the foundation.
The project faced significant delays when the bulldozer broke down on the final day of the excavation, leaving the site vulnerable to heavy rain.
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.