cargo cult

noun

(sometimes initial capital letters)

any of various Indigenous religious groups of a millenarian and messianic character located in the southwestern Pacific Islands, holding that spirits will bring large cargoes of modern goods for distribution among its adherents.

cargo cult

noun

a religious movement of the SW Pacific, characterized by expectation of the return of spirits in ships or aircraft carrying goods that will provide for the needs of the followers

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Other Word Forms

cargo cultist noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of cargo cult¹

First recorded in 1945–50

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

After the war, the cargo cult became a tradition, with adherents even building mock airstrips to induce John Frum to return from the skies with cargo.

From

They were quotation marks as rendered by a cargo cult, as if someone had once seen a quotation mark but hadn’t ever actually used one.

From

More on the crisis in research: Feynman on ‘cargo cult science’

From

It’s a rite of spring for a team that more often resembles a cargo cult than an N.B.A. franchise.

From

The theorists in this group bounce the ball, cut it open and rub their hands over the seams like members of a cargo cult.

From

cargo bay cargo liner

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