dark horse

noun

|Updated on: 11 Aug 2018

Examples: dark horse in a Sentence

Definition of dark horse

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

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See dark horse defined for kids

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 of dark horse from the Web

Third-party estimates like Chartmetric's FEL ratio demonstrate how looking beyond follower count alone can illuminate the true dark horses on Spotify in the race for engagement.

— cherie hu, Billboard, "Millions of Followers? Yes, But Some Top Spotify Playlists Fall Short on Engagement," 3 July 2018
The still-developing trade market seems to be teetering on whether the Yankees, Dodgers, Brewers or some dark horse team pries Manny Machado from the Orioles.

— jeff sanders, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Trade talk doesn't faze All-Star Brad Hand one bit," 12 July 2018
The Takeaway: Worth noting: At least one rumor is placing former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks as a dark horse candidate for the position.

— graeme mcmillan, WIRED, "While You Were Offline: The Internet Has Some Feelings About Anthony Kennedy Retiring," 1 July 2018
Which may explain why speculation also continues over the potential appointment of a dark horse progressive, such as school board member Stevon Cook or Sunny Angulo, a legislative aide to progressive Supervisor Aaron Peskin.

— matier & ross, SFChronicle.com, "Highways considered for carpool lanes in and out of SF," 9 July 2018
If personal chemistry with Trump winds up being the determining factor, the nomination could go to Kethledge, the dark horse pick.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump’s Supreme Court Pageant Could Come Down to Looks," 5 July 2018
Tipped as dark horses for the title leading up to the tournament, Belgium kept excitement brimming over during a superb group phase that reaped nine goals for only two conceded.

— justin davis, chicagotribune.com, "Martinez: Belgium are 'very excited' to face Brazil in World Cup quarterfinals," 5 July 2018
World Cup group stage rolls along with key matches A pair of World Cup dark horses were victorious Monday.

— editors, USA TODAY, "Trump's immigration policy, Juneteenth, World Cup group stage: 5 things to know Tuesday," 19 June 2018
Every year, there are dark horses who make the roster of 13.

— dakota crawford, Indianapolis Star, "Reliving some of the best Indiana All-Stars moments of past 10 years," 7 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dark horse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of dark horse

1831

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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DARK HORSE Defined for English Language Learners

dark horse

noun

Definition of dark horse for English Language Learners

: a person (such as a politician), animal, or thing that competes in a race or other contest and is not expected to win
: a person who has interesting qualities or abilities that most people do not know about