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
Brendan Marks, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026
At the time, ANTM was an entertainment juggernaut.
—Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 8 Mar. 2026
When the Knicks lost to the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder by three points at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, head coach Mike Brown was pleased with his team’s performance, a sentiment shared in a locker room that had gone toe-to-toe with an NBA juggernaut.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 8 Mar. 2026
But The Pitt is also a ratings juggernaut, occupying the rare slice of the Venn diagram where critical acclaim, audience acclaim, and real popularity all intersect.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 6 Mar. 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 12 Mar. 2026.
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