cargo cult

American  

noun

(sometimes initial capital letters)

1. any of various Indigenous religious groups of a millenarian and messianic character located in the southwestern Pacific Islands, holding that spirits will bring large cargoes of modern goods for distribution among its adherents.

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cargo cult British  

noun

1. a religious movement of the SW Pacific, characterized by expectation of the return of spirits in ships or aircraft carrying goods that will provide for the needs of the followers

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Other Word Forms

• cargo cultist noun

Etymology

Origin of cargo cult

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

After the war, the cargo cult became a tradition, with adherents even building mock airstrips to induce John Frum to return from the skies with cargo.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2025

They were quotation marks as rendered by a cargo cult, as if someone had once seen a quotation mark but hadn’t ever actually used one.

From Washington Post • Feb. 13, 2022

The theorists in this group bounce the ball, cut it open and rub their hands over the seams like members of a cargo cult.

From New York Times • Sep. 21, 2017

We’re entering an era of cargo cult peer review.

From Slate • Apr. 1, 2015

Compare magic, deep magic, heavy wizardry, rain dance, cargo cult programming, wave a dead chicken.

From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Steele, Guy L.