What does juggernaut mean?

Definitions for juggernaut
ˈdʒʌg ərˌnɔt, -ˌnɒtjug·ger·naut

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word juggernaut.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. juggernaut, steamrollernoun

    a massive inexorable force that seems to crush everything in its way

  2. Jagannath, Jagannatha, Jagganath, Juggernautnoun

    an avatar of Vishnu

  3. Juggernautnoun

    a crude idol of Krishna

GCIDE

  1. Juggernautnoun

    Any large, unstoppable force, power, or popular movement which defeats or destroys any person who gets in its way or attempts to stop it; as, for years the Notre Dame football team was an unstoppable juggernaut; after the early primaries, Johnson's campaign became a juggernaut, crushing all rivals.

Wiktionary

  1. juggernautnoun

    A literal or metaphorical force or object regarded as unstoppable, that will crush all in its path.

  2. juggernautnoun

    A large, cumbersome truck or lorry, especially an artic (typically used somewhat disparagingly).

  3. juggernautnoun

    An institution that incites destructive devotion or to which people are carelessly sacrificed.

  4. Etymology: From Hindustani जगन्नाथ/ ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ/ جگناتھ, from जगन्नाथ (), a title for the Hindu deity Vishnu's avatar Krishna. English form influenced by suffix -naut.

Wikipedia

  1. Juggernaut

    A juggernaut ( (listen)), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originated in the mid-nineteenth century and was adapted from the Sanskrit word Jagannath.

ChatGPT

  1. juggernaut

    A juggernaut is a powerful and overwhelming force or institution that is seemingly unstoppable and destructive. This term can be used to refer to a large, powerful organization or object, like a political movement, a potent vehicle, a huge idea or even a dominant sports team. It originates from the ancient Indian chariot of the deity Jagannath, whose massive chariot was said to crush devotees under its wheels.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Juggernautnoun

    one of the names under which Vishnu, in his incarnation as Krishna, is worshiped by the Hindoos

  2. Etymology: [Skr. jaganntha lord of the world.]

Wikidata

  1. Juggernaut

    A juggernaut in colloquial English usage is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as mercilessly destructive and unstoppable. In British English, it also used to mean a large heavy truck or articulated lorry. Originating ca. 1850, the term is a metaphorical reference to the Hindu Ratha Yatra temple car, which apocryphally was reputed to crush devotees under its wheels. The word is derived from the Sanskrit Jagannātha "world-lord", one of the names of Krishna found in the Sanskrit epics. The English loanword juggernaut in the sense of "a huge wagon bearing an image of a Hindu god" is from the 17th century, inspired by the Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha, which has the Ratha Yatra, an annual procession of chariots carrying the murtis of Jagannâth, Subhadra and Balabhadra. The first European description of this festival is found in the 14th-century The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, which apocryphally describes Hindus, as a religious sacrifice, casting themselves under the wheels of these huge chariots and being crushed to death. Others have suggested more prosaically that the deaths, if any, were accidental and caused by the press of the crowd and the general commotion.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Juggernaut

    jug′er-nawt, n. an idol of the Hindu god Vishnu, beneath whose car devotees were supposed to immolate themselves; hence the 'car of Juggernaut' stands metaphorically for any Moloch of self-sacrifice. [Sans. Jagannātha, lord of the world.]

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

  1. Juggernaut

    (22) or Puri, a town on the S. coast of Orissa, in Bengal; one of the holy places of India, with a temple dedicated to Vishnu, and containing an idol of him called Jagannâtha (or the Lord of the World), which, in festival times, attracts thousands of pilgrims to worship at its shrine, on one of which occasions the idol is dragged forth in a ponderous car by the pilgrims and back again, under the wheels of which, till prohibited, multitudes would throw themselves to be crushed to death in the hope of thereby attaining a state of eternal beatitude.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of juggernaut in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of juggernaut in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of juggernaut in a Sentence

  1. Rory Bruer:

    It was a little scary to be in ['Furious 7's'] wake, but that Blart is tough stuff, we exceeded expectations and held our ground despite this juggernaut.

  2. Counterpoint Research analyst Neil Shah:

    It is both a boon and a bane to have Apple as a customer https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-03/apple-supplier-learns-downside-of-living-at-juggernaut-s-mercy

  3. Rory Bruer:

    It was a little scary to be in [‘Furious 7’s’] wake, but that Blart is tough stuff, we exceeded expectations and held our ground despite this juggernaut.

  4. Constantino Chiwenga:

    It is a ruthless juggernaut that leaves a trail of despair and desperation.

  5. Bernie Cho:

    They’ve become a pop music juggernaut. encyclopedia.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

juggernaut#10000#44500#100000

Translations for juggernaut

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"juggernaut." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/juggernaut>.

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