juju

American  

[joo-joo] / ˈdʒu dʒu /

noun

1. an object venerated superstitiously and used as a fetish or amulet in West African spiritual practices.

2. the magical power attributed to such an object.

3. Informal. an emanating aura or supernatural force: The team chalked up that string of unfortunate losses to bad juju on the road.

   The charismatic lead singer has serious juju.

   The team chalked up that string of unfortunate losses to bad juju on the road.

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juju British  

/ ˈdʒuːdʒuː /

noun

1. an object superstitiously revered by certain W African peoples and used as a charm or fetish

2. the power associated with a juju

3. a taboo effected by a juju

4. any process in which a mystery is exploited to confuse people

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Other Word Forms

• jujuism
  noun
• jujuist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of juju

First recorded in 1890–95; allegedly from Hausa jūjū “fetish,” from French joujou “toy, plaything”

Example Sentences

Ninja was propelled to stardom in 2018 after he played Fortnite on streaming site Twitch alongside rappers Drake and Travis Scott, and NFL player Juju Smith-Schuster.

From BBC • Sep. 18, 2025

“The thing that strikes me the most in our conversations has been how dedicated both of us are to our families,” Turner, 72, told ABC’s Juju Chang.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2024

Juju Watkins finished with 23 points but got plenty of help from her teammates as USC crushed Cal State Fullerton 93-44 to improve to 9-0 on the season.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 21, 2023

Stellar freshman Juju Watkins has helped Southern California climb the AP Top 25 to the team’s best ranking in 29 years.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 27, 2023

Before Miss Carol can open her mouth to speak, Juju is screaming loud as anything.

From "The Skin I'm In" by Sharon G. Flake