SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

dark horse

noun

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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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.

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

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Examples: dark horse in a Sentence