different between bulldoze vs threaten

English

Etymology

From earlier bulldose (noun, literally “bull-dose, a dose fit for a bull”), equivalent to bull +? dose.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?b?ldo?z/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?b?ld??z/
• Hyphenation: bull?doze

Verb

bulldoze (third-person singular simple present bulldozes, present participle bulldozing, simple past and past participle bulldozed)

1. To destroy with a bulldozer.

   He's certainly very chirpy for a man whose house has just been bulldozed down.
2. (Britain) To push someone over by heading straight over them. Often used in conjunction with "over".

   He just ran across the field bulldozing everyone over.

3. (Britain) To push through forcefully.

   • For the second time in a week, Wenger's team gave themselves an encouraging platform. In the 11th minute Theo Walcott drilled in a corner, and Olivier Giroud bulldozed through unopposed to thump the ball goalwards.

4. To push into a heap, as a bulldozer does.
   • 1975, Saul Bellow, Humboldt's Gift [Avon ed., 1976, p. 469]:

     There stood a low yellow compact machine which apparently did the digging and bull-dozed back the earth.

   Again the animal had bulldozed all of its bedding into a heap at one end of its cage.

5. (Britain) To shoot down an idea immediately and forcefully.

   That was a good suggestion, but you just bulldozed it.

6. (US, slang, dated) To intimidate; to restrain or coerce by intimidation or violence; used originally of the intimidation of black voters in Louisiana.

Translations

References

Kelly, John. "What in the Word?! The racist roots of 'bulldozer'". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 21 October 2018.

Further reading

• bulldoze on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

English

Etymology

From Middle English þreaten or þreten, from Old English þr?atian.

Pronunciation

• enPR: thr?t?n?, IPA^(key): /????t.n?/
• Hyphenation: threat?en

Verb

threaten (third-person singular simple present threatens, present participle threatening, simple past and past participle threatened)

1. To make a threat against someone; to use threats.

   He threatened me with a knife.

2. To menace, or be dangerous.

   The rocks threatened the ship's survival.

3. To portend, or give a warning of.

   The black clouds threatened heavy rain.

4. (figuratively) To be close to equaling or surpassing (a record, etc.)
   • 2000, Lew Freedman, Diamonds in the Rough: Baseball Stories from Alaska, ?ISBN, page 69

     The player quickly surmised that things weren't kosher and the suddenly wiser ballplayer threatened the world record for the fifty-yard dash as he sought safety. As Reynolds dived into the van, Dietz and the other players rolled with laughter.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Translations