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
Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 22 Mar. 2026
In recent years, the juggernauts behind K-pop’s global success have made clear efforts to capitalize on Latin America’s unique interest in the genre.
—Mitchell McCluskey, CNN Money, 22 Mar. 2026
But an implosion against the juggernaut doesn’t fully diminish Iowa’s strong closing stretch.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2026
Hot off January's announcement that the K-pop juggernauts are returning for a massive world tour later this year, the ARMY has just been gifted another treat.
—Glamour, 21 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 24 Mar. 2026.
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