juggernaut
noun
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The History of Juggernaut
In the early 14th century, Franciscan missionary Friar Odoric brought to Europe the story of an enormous carriage that carried an image of the Hindu god Vishnu (whose title was Jagannāth, literally, "lord of the world") through the streets of India in religious processions. Odoric reported that some worshippers deliberately allowed themselves to be crushed beneath the vehicle's wheels as a sacrifice to Vishnu. That story was likely an exaggeration or misinterpretation of actual events, but it spread throughout Europe. The tale caught the imagination of English listeners, and they began using juggernaut to refer to any massive vehicle (such as a steam locomotive) and to any other enormous entity with powerful crushing capabilities. While the word is still used sometimes in British English to refer to a very large, heavy truck (also called a "juggernaut lorry"), juggernaut is more commonly used figuratively for a relentless force, entity, campaign, or movement, as in "a political/economic/cultural juggernaut."
Examples of juggernaut in a Sentence
Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 9 Feb. 2026
Part of that is New England’s offensive line, but the Pats have also faced one juggernaut of a pass rush after another this postseason.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
Shein has pulled its net-zero pledge in Germany after a local watchdog group compelled the e-tail juggernaut to substantiate its claim or drop it.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 6 Feb. 2026
The rest of the league was horrified by the thought of OKC adding another top prospect to a juggernaut roster.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for juggernaut
Cite this Entry
“Juggernaut.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/juggernaut. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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