- any terrible force, esp one that destroys or that demands complete self-sacrifice
- Brit a very large lorry for transporting goods by road, esp one that travels throughout Europe
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
jug•ger•naut /ˈdʒʌgɚˌnɔt, -ˌnɑt/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
- any massive, overpowering force or object:an economic juggernaut.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
juggernaut /ˈdʒʌɡəˌnɔːt/ n
Jug•ger•naut
( jug′ər nôt′, -not′),USA pronunciation n.
Jug′ger•naut′ish, adj.
- (often l.c.) any large, overpowering, destructive force or object, as war, a giant battleship, or a powerful football team.
- (often l.c.) anything requiring blind devotion or cruel sacrifice.
- Also called Jagannath. an idol of Krishna, at Puri in Orissa, India, annually drawn on an enormous cart under whose wheels devotees are said to have thrown themselves to be crushed.
- Sanskrit Jagannātha lord of the world (i.e., the god Vishnu or Krishna), equivalent. to jagat world + nātha lord
- Hindi Jagannāth
- 1630–40
'juggernaut' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):