A bulldozer is a piece of heavy construction equipment, characterized by a movable blade for pushing earth or other materials, which is mounted on the front of a powerful tracked vehicle with immense traction on rough surfaces. Bulldozers may be equipped with other construction equipment powered from the main vehicle, such as a backhoe or winch.
Some bulldozers, intended for military use, may be armored to protect the operator and vital components. Bulldozer-like blades are sometimes attached to the front of tanks or other armored fighting vehicles to give them a secondary field engineering capability, to add to their combat function. Operators of unarmored bulldozers have been known to raise the blades as a shield against rifle and machine gun fire, until they reach their destination.
Because the tracks of a bulldozer both will damage road surfaces, and are not designed for high speed, bulldozers are usually brought to the workplace on a truck or trailer.