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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

It isn’t Los Angeles’s fault that they’ve built a modern juggernaut of global media and merchandising rights at a time when other teams are struggling to stay on TV.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

In the context of the dire austerity we are witnessing, the juggernaut of tech money seems impossible to resist.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

While Zhu would grow GigaDevice into a highly successful publicly traded chip designer in the years that followed, the company lacked the capital and expertise to become a memory juggernaut.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026

It's going to require something extra special to stop this Les Bleus juggernaut from reaching a third straight World Cup final.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

He saw a great juggernaut of stars form in the sky and threaten to roll over and crush him.

From "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury

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

From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026

As a private fund, Juggernaut doesn’t publish its holdings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

If confirmed, Warsh must sell two Juggernaut Fund positions, each over $50 million, and divest other holdings.

From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 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

I started swimming away, but I did not make it far before the Juggernaut crashed against the mountain.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

Like Sam’s AI use, the industry itself has gotten more sophisticated, and tech juggernauts and startups are locked in a race for supremacy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 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

In their place, however, are family-friendly films, which became theatrical juggernauts in the last few years and have accounted for numerous billion-dollar hits.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 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

But that it was one of the world's juggernauts, and the more cruel for its ever laughing beguiling face—of that there was no manner of doubt.

From Ancestors A Novel by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton

Related Words

• barrage
• cavalcade