dark horse

noun

1

a

: a usually little known contender (such as a racehorse) that makes an unexpectedly good showing

b

: an entrant in a contest that is judged unlikely to succeed

2

: a political candidate unexpectedly nominated usually as a compromise between factions

Examples of dark horse in a Sentence

The Democrat from Utah has gone from being a dark horse to the front-runner in the campaign for President.

The movie is a dark horse for the award.

He is a dark horse, but I did find out that he once played football professionally.

Recent Examples on the Web

Outsiders As ever with these top jobs, a dark horse candidate will likely emerge (former Daily Telegraph editor Will Lewis and Amazon UK chief Doug Gurr were in the mix when Davie got the job). —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 11 Nov. 2025

Some pundits in the national media seemed to think that the Los Angeles Clippers could be a dark horse team in the NBA's Western Conference this season. —Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025

The race for electric aircraft supremacy is moving full-speed ahead, and a dark horse could emerge as one of the frontrunners. —Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 5 Nov. 2025

Looking for a Group of 5 dark horse outside of the American? —Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1821, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for dark horse

• concourse
• divorce
• endorse
• enforce
• indorse
• midcourse
• outsource
• perforce
• racecourse
• racehorse
• remorse
• seahorse

Kids Definition

dark horse

noun

: a contestant or a political figure whose abilities and chances of winning are not known

the convention nominated a dark horse