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
Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 1 Jan. 2026
The horror-fantasy sensation, which started as a modest ’80s pastiche in 2016 and quickly became a Netflix juggernaut, wrapped with a plus-sized series finale written and directed by show creators The Duffer Brothers.
—William Earl, Variety, 1 Jan. 2026
The Colombian juggernaut sports a t-shirt and light blue denim jeans, while the Puerto Rican rapper wears a t-shirt and beige cargo pants.
—Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 31 Dec. 2025
The startup, which is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering, has received billions in funding over the years from tech juggernaut Microsoft.
—Samantha Subin, CNBC, 30 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for juggernaut
Cite this Entry
“Juggernaut.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/juggernaut. Accessed 3 Jan. 2026.
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