black sheep

noun

: a disfavored or disreputable member of a group

Examples of black sheep in a Sentence

She was the black sheep of the family.

Recent Examples on the Web

Only Rabe, as the black sheep Brooke, struggles to grasp her careening character. — Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026

Anna is the black sheep of her family which would make the stay at the picturesque Italian villa Monteperso annoying, even without the creepy ghost determined to steal all of their souls. — Rebekah Faubion, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2026

Dismally received upon release, and long out of print, the black sheep of Thompson’s bibliography is now being reissued. — Hunter S. Thompson, Air Mail, 17 Oct. 2026

But Microsoft looked even worse now that Alphabet had gone from black sheep to market darling, thanks to the release of Gemini 3 in late 2025. — Zev Fima, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1640, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for black sheep

• asleep
• upkeep
• beep
• cheap
• creep
• deep
• heap
• jeep
• keep
• leap
• peep
• reap

Kids Definition

black sheep

noun

: a person having a bad reputation in a group with a good reputation