Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "roughshod" [rough•shod]

  • Shod with horseshoes having projecting nails or points to prevent slipping. (adjective)
  • Marked by brutal force: Stalin's roughshod treatment of the kulaks. (adjective)
  • Ride roughshod over To treat with brutal force: a manager who rode roughshod over all opposition. (idiom)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "roughshod" in a sentence
  • "There were already signs that the African National Congress intended riding "roughshod" over opposition parties."
  • "BCGI and RUSAL have run "roughshod" over Guyanese workers and the union."
  • "` I've lived in Port Richmond east of Aramingo for the past 6 years, and we're anything but "roughshod"."