juggernaut

or Jug·ger·naut

[ juhg-er-nawt, -not ]
See synonyms for juggernaut on Thesaurus.com
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.

  1. Chiefly British. A large, heavy vehicle, especially a truck.

Origin of juggernaut

1
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 for defs. 1, 2; from Hindi Jagannāth, from Sanskrit Jagannātha- “lord of the world”; see Jagannath

Other words from juggernaut

  • Jug·ger·naut·ish, adjective

Words Nearby juggernaut

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use juggernaut in a sentence

  • Then something screamed at them out there in the night and came at them like a juggernaut.

    Hunters Out of Space | Joseph Everidge Kelleam
  • His juggernaut's car must roll on its course over her body or Mary Lawrie's.

    An Old Man's Love | Anthony Trollope
  • The school of hardship is not for those who love luxury, and to the poverty stricken it is not a school--it is a juggernaut.

    Bill's School and Mine | William Suddards Franklin
  • And there are hints of humaner opinions; it's not all a huge rolling block of a juggernaut.

  • Like a juggernaut, it continued to advance, crushing all who got in its way, the innocent and the evil alike.

    Court Beauties of Old Whitehall | W. R. H. Trowbridge

British Dictionary definitions for juggernaut (1 of 2)

juggernaut

/ (ˈdʒʌɡəˌnɔːt) /


noun
  1. any terrible force, esp one that destroys or that demands complete self-sacrifice

  2. British a very large lorry for transporting goods by road, esp one that travels throughout Europe

British Dictionary definitions for Juggernaut (2 of 2)

Juggernaut

/ (ˈdʒʌɡəˌnɔːt) /


nounHinduism
  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

Origin of Juggernaut

2
C17: from Hindi Jagannath, from Sanskrit Jagannātha lord of the world (that is, Vishnu, chief of the Hindu gods), from jagat world + nātha lord

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Juggernaut

Juggernaut

[ (jug-uhr-nawt) ]


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.

Notes for Juggernaut

A force, an idea, or a system of beliefs that overcomes opposition — especially if it does so ruthlessly — is called a “juggernaut.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.