juggernaut
Americannoun
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any large, overpowering force or object, such as war, a giant battleship, or a powerful football team.
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anything requiring blind devotion or cruel sacrifice.
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Chiefly British. A large, heavy vehicle, especially a truck.
noun
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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
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a form of Krishna miraculously raised by Brahma from the state of a crude idol to that of a living god
noun
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any terrible force, esp one that destroys or that demands complete self-sacrifice
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a very large lorry for transporting goods by road, esp one that travels throughout Europe
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
- Juggernautish adjective
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”; Jagannath ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
AI juggernaut Nvidia unveiled its latest AI platform on Monday, as the world's most valuable company works to maintain its leadership in supplying the chips that power the artificial intelligence revolution.
From Barron's
South Korean tech juggernaut Samsung Electronics is one of the world's top memory-chip makers, providing crucial components for the AI industry and the infrastructure it relies on.
From Barron's
The combination of the department-store chains, which also includes Saks OFF 5th, was a bid to create a luxury-retailing juggernaut better able to streamline costs and hang on to their wealthy shoppers.
Instead of ranking the restaurants that make the Golden State, in Addison’s words, a “culinary juggernaut,” the list, which is only a beginning, offers a glimpse into the cultures and diversities that make up California.
From Los Angeles Times
Some business leaders question whether he has the management chops to run a juggernaut like New York.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.