juggernaut
juggernaut Lexical Profile
juggernaut Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A huge, powerful, and overwhelming force, institution, or movement that crushes or dominates whatever stands in its path.
"The small startup quickly grew into a global financial juggernaut that reshaped the entire banking sector."
British A very large, heavy articulated truck used for transporting freight over long distances.
"Narrow country lanes in the village are frequently congested by delivery vans and heavy juggernauts."
Word Nuance & Usage
In British English, 'juggernaut' commonly refers to a very large, heavy cargo truck (semi-trailer), whereas in American English it is used almost exclusively in the figurative sense of an unstoppable force, organization, or competitor.
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 17th century from Hindi 'Jagannath', from Sanskrit 'Jagannatha' ('lord of the world'), a title of the Hindu deity Krishna; European travelers popularized accounts of the massive temple chariot at Puri, Odisha, whose wheels were apocryphally said to crush devotees.