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• juggernaut
  juggernaut

  noun

  any large, overpowering force or object, such as war, a giant battleship, or a powerful football team.
• Juggernaut
  Juggernaut

  noun

  a crude idol of Krishna worshipped at Puri and throughout Odisha (formerly Orissa) and Bengal. At an annual festival the idol is wheeled through the town on a gigantic chariot and devotees are supposed to have formerly thrown themselves under the wheels

juggernaut

American  

[juhg-er-nawt, -not] / ˈdʒʌg ərˌnɔt, -ˌnɒt /

Or Juggernaut

noun

• juggernauts
  plural

1. any large, overpowering force or object, such as war, a giant battleship, or a powerful football team.

2. anything requiring blind devotion or cruel sacrifice.

3. Chiefly British. A large, heavy vehicle, especially a truck.

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Juggernaut ¹ British  

/ ˈdʒʌɡəˌnɔːt /

noun

1. a crude idol of Krishna worshipped at Puri and throughout Odisha (formerly Orissa) and Bengal. At an annual festival the idol is wheeled through the town on a gigantic chariot and devotees are supposed to have formerly thrown themselves under the wheels

2. a form of Krishna miraculously raised by Brahma from the state of a crude idol to that of a living god

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juggernaut ² British  

/ ˈdʒʌɡəˌnɔːt /

noun

1. any terrible force, esp one that destroys or that demands complete self-sacrifice

2. a very large lorry for transporting goods by road, esp one that travels throughout Europe

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Juggernaut Cultural  

1. A deity in Hinduism, considered a deliverer from sin. His image is carried on a large wagon in an annual procession in India, and according to legend the wagon crushed worshipers who threw themselves under it.

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Discover More

A force, an idea, or a system of beliefs that overcomes opposition — especially if it does so ruthlessly — is called a “juggernaut.”

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Juggernautish
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• juggernauts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of juggernaut

First recorded in 1630–40, in the sense of an idol of Krishna annually drawn on an enormous cart in Puri, Odisha, India; 1840–45 juggernaut for defs. 1, 2; from Hindi Jagannāth, from Sanskrit Jagannātha- “lord of the world”; see Jagannath ( def. )

Explanation

Juggernaut means a massive force. If the army marching into your country is a juggernaut, you're doomed. If you're trying to market a new Cola product, you're up against corporate giant Coca-Cola, a beverage juggernaut if ever there was one. With its roots in Hindi, juggernaut originally referred to a crude statue from which the Hindu god, Brahma, turned into the living god, Krishna. There continues to be a festival in honor of this miracle, in which a statue of Krishna is carted through town. It is said that in times past, devotees would throw themselves under the cart’s wheels.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

juggernaut Juggernaut juggernauts

But inside China, it has become an industrial juggernaut.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

While Zhu would grow GigaDevice into a highly successful publicly traded chip designer in the years that followed, the company lacked the capital and expertise to become a memory juggernaut.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026

I would never have imagined, nearly three decades later, that the Grand Theft Auto series would become the cultural juggernaut it is today.

From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026

It's going to require something extra special to stop this Les Bleus juggernaut from reaching a third straight World Cup final.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

S'pose Dad'd been mangled by a juggernaut on the M5 and the police only had this office number ’cause all his other I.D.'d got incinerated?

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Warsh’s stakes in Juggernaut Fund LP and a handful of the largest positions are supposed to be sold between his Senate confirmation and his swearing in.

From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026

As a private fund, Juggernaut doesn’t publish its holdings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

Juggernaut is a private investment vehicle also managed by Druckenmiller’s firm.

From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026

His music began with Jeff Buckley's 'Hallelujah' and soon turned into a vastly different vibe - a rap song with the chorus "You don't want to war with big Juggernaut".

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2023

Electronic signals were sent back and forth between Crusher and the Juggernaut.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

In a summer of Gen Z-driven blockbusters and ancient Greek juggernauts, the 38th entry in the Marvel universe can’t help smelling like your uncle’s sweaty Comic-Con ball cap.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

They returned to the summit again until visiting City on 26 April, with Pep Guardiola's juggernauts convincing 4-1 victors during a run of 14 wins from 15 games.

From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026

During the bulk of his four decades in Durham, Krzyzewski maintained experienced rosters, building juggernauts schooled over years in the Duke way of doing things.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026

The original manga also sets it apart from other Japanese juggernauts like "One Piece", which spans over 100 volumes compared to just 23 for "Demon Slayer".

From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025

He had overcome this obstacle, however, and had eliminated the possibilities of a collision with these stellar juggernauts.

From The Jameson Satellite by Neil Ronald Jones

Related Words

• barrage
• cavalcade