juggernaut

American  

[juhg-er-nawt, -not] / ˈdʒʌg ərˌnɔt, -ˌnɒt /

Or Juggernaut

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.

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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

• 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

As proof, they point to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the juggernaut whose back-to-back titles and record-setting payrolls have turned them into the proxy for all of MLB’s supposed problems.

From The Wall Street Journal

When tensions between the two economic juggernauts flared, investors looking for a neutral place to hide were left with gold as a default reserve asset, Gavekal writes.

From Barron's

However, the series didn’t burst out of the gate as the juggernaut hit it would become.

From Los Angeles Times

Under Ms. Zambello’s pithy direction, those ensnared in the juggernaut can only lose.

From The Wall Street Journal

His spy novels slipped from the public consciousness in those years, in contrast to Fleming's James Bond, which benefited from the marketing juggernaut of a continuing film franchise.

From BBC

Related Words

• barrage
• cavalcade