dark horse

noun

Updated on: 22 Apr 2018

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

See dark horse defined for English-language learners

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

The Philadelphia Eagles could be another dark horse candidate.

— tribune news service, NOLA.com, "Odds point Dez Bryant toward a Cowboys division rival," 14 Apr. 2018
And of course there is always the chance for a dark horse candidate who can run through the ranks.

— tara golshan, Vox, "The race for the next leader of House Republicans is on," 13 Apr. 2018
With two of the game’s top players — Giannis Antetokounmpo leading Milwaukee and Anthony Davis serving as New Orleans’ centerpiece — both teams are dangerous dark horses.

— jim lefko, San Antonio Express-News, "Writers’ roundtable: What are the Spurs' contract options in regards to Leonard?," 13 Apr. 2018
Members didn’t rule out a dark horse Wednesday, but said Messrs. McCarthy and Scalise were the clear front-runners.

— natalie andrews and siobhan hughes, WSJ, "The Short Bench of Contenders to Succeed Ryan," 11 Apr. 2018
Victoria remains a dark horse for a girl at 8/1, with Alexandra at 16/1.

— caroline picard, Good Housekeeping, "All the Things We Know About the Next Royal Baby," 9 Apr. 2018
As Lillard enters the MVP conversation and the league begins to take this team seriously as a potential dark horse in the West, Tuesday night's matchup against the league-best Rockets was the best test Portland's had yet.

— andrew sharp, SI.com, "The Blazers Have a Ceiling, But Damian Lillard Will Try to Break Through It Anyway," 21 Mar. 2018
Fans started to fall in love with the dark horse that resembled Harry Potter and his band of crusaders against the dark arts.

— andrew beaton, WSJ, "Fans Embrace Loyola’s Magical Run With Harry Potter Theme," 26 Mar. 2018
The dark horse in the race could be James Morgan, a graduate transfer from Bowling Green.

— matt murschel, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Ranking the QB position in CUSA heading into spring," 1 Mar. 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

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