dark horse

noun

|Updated on: 16 Jun 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

President Trump tweeted Wednesday, touting Republican John Cox's second-place finish in the state's gubernatorial primary -- though Cox remains the dark horse candidate against Democrat Gavin Newsom in that race.

— adam shaw, Fox News, "Dems’ path to House takeover narrows: Party trails in Calif. races, as NY seat comes into play," 7 June 2018
Which nation is a true dark horse threat to make a deep run?

— si.com staff, SI.com, "World Cup Crystal Ball: Russia 2018's Dark Horse, Breakout Star, Golden Boot and More," 5 June 2018
Then came the betrayal: the dark horse rival who upped the offer by 10 grand and waived inspection.

— joyce wadler, New York Times, "Summer House Madness," 10 May 2018
There's also Dominic Thiem, many people's dark horse.

— aimee lewis, CNN, "Serena Williams & Rafael Nadal out to make French Open history," 25 May 2018
Read on for the dark horses, top first-round matchups, predictions and more.

— jon wertheim, SI.com, "French Open 2018 Seed Reports," 24 May 2018
Belgium, stacked with English Premier League stars, is a popular dark horse.

— michelle kaufman, miamiherald, "The World Cup in Russia kicks off in less than a month. Here's what you need to know. | Miami Herald," 20 May 2018
As for a dark horse pick, keep an eye out for this classic diadem inspired by a popular Romanov style.

— caroline picard, Good Housekeeping, "Meghan Markle's Dad Won't Attend the Royal Wedding," 14 May 2018
Finau, a dark horse to win the men’s first major of the season, teed off at 12:43 p.m. ET with Bernhard Langer and Yuta Ikeda.

— langston wertz jr., charlotteobserver, "One day after horrific spill, Tony Finau plays Masters on tender ankle | Charlotte Observer," 5 Apr. 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