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
London Business School, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Long viewed as an electoral juggernaut, MAS now faces the most serious threat in its history.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 14 Aug. 2025
In the 1990s, Jerry Jones turned the Cowboys into an on-field juggernaut—winning three Super Bowls in four years—and an off-field colossus, becoming American sports’ most valuable franchise.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Fraiser Once an Emmy juggernaut, Kelsey Grammer’s return as Fraiser Crane was a far cry from the character’s heyday.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 12 Aug. 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 23 Aug. 2025.
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