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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

David Ellison emerged with his prized Hollywood juggernaut on Tuesday as the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Cornyn, the longtime incumbent, is a fundraising juggernaut and party stalwart who had never lost an election.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

The fast-fashion company became a juggernaut by pumping out a never-ending supply of clothes at super-cheap prices, creating a constant churn of microtrends for consumers to chase.

From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026

Not only was it a culinary juggernaut, but the sky-high restaurant—soaring more than 100 stories above the city in the North Tower of the World Trade Center—shifted the city’s culture.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Miss Montana swept her arm toward the juggernaut on the beach.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

Juggernaut Fund LP is the private limited partnership through which Druckenmiller manages his personal $11 billion fortune.

From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026

Pittsburgh-based Foundation is backed by private-equity firms Kelso & Co. and Juggernaut Capital Partners.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026

The "adrenaline-pumping night like no other" will see Louis "The Razor" Robinson go up against Dom "The Juggernaut" Sorby.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2024

It became a massive mountain of water, rushing toward the Juggernaut.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

The landmark deal would unite two storied Hollywood juggernauts under CEO David Ellison.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Emerging market stocks are hitting new highs, powered by Asia’s artificial intelligence juggernauts, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

From Barron's ● May 7, 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

The rise of Chinese e-commerce juggernauts Shein and Temu conditioned shoppers to wait longer for their packages—and revealed to American businesses that their customers weren’t always looking for speedy delivery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 2026

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