cargo cult

American  

noun

(sometimes initial capital letters)

1. any of various Indigenous religious groups of a millenarian and messianic character located in the southwestern Pacific Islands, holding that spirits will bring large cargoes of modern goods for distribution among its adherents.

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cargo cult British  

noun

1. a religious movement of the SW Pacific, characterized by expectation of the return of spirits in ships or aircraft carrying goods that will provide for the needs of the followers

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Other Word Forms

• cargo cultist noun

Etymology

Origin of cargo cult

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

After the war, the cargo cult became a tradition, with adherents even building mock airstrips to induce John Frum to return from the skies with cargo.

From Salon

They were quotation marks as rendered by a cargo cult, as if someone had once seen a quotation mark but hadn’t ever actually used one.

From Washington Post

More on the crisis in research: Feynman on ‘cargo cult science’

From Los Angeles Times

It’s a rite of spring for a team that more often resembles a cargo cult than an N.B.A. franchise.

From New York Times

The theorists in this group bounce the ball, cut it open and rub their hands over the seams like members of a cargo cult.

From New York Times