juggernaut
noun
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The History of Juggernaut
In the early 14th century, Franciscan missionary Friar Odoric brought to Europe the story of an enormous carriage that carried an image of the Hindu god Vishnu (whose title was Jagannāth, literally, "lord of the world") through the streets of India in religious processions. Odoric reported that some worshippers deliberately allowed themselves to be crushed beneath the vehicle's wheels as a sacrifice to Vishnu. That story was likely an exaggeration or misinterpretation of actual events, but it spread throughout Europe. The tale caught the imagination of English listeners, and they began using juggernaut to refer to any massive vehicle (such as a steam locomotive) and to any other enormous entity with powerful crushing capabilities. While the word is still used sometimes in British English to refer to a very large, heavy truck (also called a "juggernaut lorry"), juggernaut is more commonly used figuratively for a relentless force, entity, campaign, or movement, as in "a political/economic/cultural juggernaut."
Examples of juggernaut in a Sentence
Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 13 May 2026
Despite the differences in spending rules, the Dodgers player development has been superb, and its business has become an international juggernaut while the team has played in five of the last nine World Series championships, winning three.
—Dan Woike, New York Times, 12 May 2026
Wolfhard, who worked with Neon on his directorial debut Hell of a Summer, recently wrapped up his run on Netflix juggernaut Stranger Things.
—Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 11 May 2026
Then the Knicks coach, Mike Brown, tweaked the offense, running more of it through Towns, and the team became a juggernaut.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 10 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for juggernaut
Cite this Entry
“Juggernaut.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/juggernaut. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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