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
Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 2 June 2025
The American housing market, a post-pandemic juggernaut that seemed unstoppable, is finally showing signs of fatigue.
—Jackie Snow, Quartz, 2 June 2025
Carpenter’s heroics knocked out a juggernaut Phillies team whose 102 wins were the most by a National League team in seven years.
—Tim Britton, New York Times, 30 May 2025
The pop-rock effort was heralded as a critical triumph at the time, as well as a commercial juggernaut, and it is now regarded as one of the greatest albums ever.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for juggernaut
Cite this Entry
“Juggernaut.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/juggernaut. Accessed 9 Jun. 2025.
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