juggernaut

Or Jug·ger·naut

[juhg-er-nawt, -not]

noun

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.

Juggernaut

¹

/ 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

juggernaut

²

/ 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

Juggernaut

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.

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

• Juggernautish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Juggernaut¹

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”; Jagannath ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of Juggernaut¹

C17: from Hindi Jagannath, from Sanskrit Jagannātha lord of the world (that is, Vishnu, chief of the Hindu gods), from jagat world + nātha lord

Example Sentences

The firm describes Oracle as an “AI juggernaut for the information age” that is “maniacally focused on database innovation.”

Read more on Barron's

He has poured a ridiculous amount of his own money into his team’s roster to transform the skinflint Mets into a financial juggernaut.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It is a movement that, in little more than a decade, has become a juggernaut.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It did not play like the star-studded juggernaut or villainous evil empire or ascendant dynastic power the rest of the baseball world had labeled it to be.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Over the last decade, China has proven to be a pop culture juggernaut in its own right, capable of keeping its population of 1.3 billion entertained with homegrown media.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• barrage 
• cavalcade