Definition of cellar dweller
sports, informal
: a last-place team : a team with the worst record in a league, conference, etc.
- Northwestern University, long a cellar dweller in the Big Ten, defied all odds and went to the Rose Bowl in 1995.
- —Andrew Zimbalist
- … any team in the majors—including the cellar dwellers from the season before—has the chance to be the best in the game.
- —Tracy Ringolsby
- The Aggies have morphed from conference cellar dweller to annual contender to a program that has won 17 consecutive home games …
- —Ailene Voisin
