Advertisement

Advertisement

roughshod

[ ruhf-shod ]

adjective

  1. shod shoe with horseshoes having projecting nails or points.


roughshod

/ ˈrʌfˌʃɒd /

adjective

  1. (of a horse) shod with rough-bottomed shoes to prevent sliding
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

  1. ride roughshod over
    to domineer over or act with complete disregard for
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of roughshod1

First recorded in 1680–90; rough + shod
Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. ride roughshod over, to treat harshly or domineeringly; override; crush:

    He rode roughshod over his friends to advance himself in the business world.

Discover More

Example Sentences

Armed with a grant of immunity from the Supreme Court, he would run roughshod over the rule of law.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK would not sit “idly by whilst Putin and his mafia state ride roughshod over international law, including the Chemical Weapons Convention”.

From BBC

For half a century, the department has been plagued by allegations about tattooed groups of deputies who run roughshod over certain sheriff’s stations and promote a culture of violence.

For five decades, the Sheriff’s Department has been plagued by allegations about rogue groups of deputies running roughshod over certain stations and promoting a culture of violence.

To his opponents, he was an authoritarian strongman who rode roughshod over the country's democratic institutions to preserve his hold on power.

From BBC

Advertisement

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


rough-sawnrough sleeper