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
Vancouver gave up a lot to get Elias Lindholm last year which made sense because the club looked like a dark horse contender.
—
Josh Yohe, The Athletic, 22 Nov. 2024
The former is an Oscar dark horse for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for seven-time nominee Mike Leigh, yet the only BIFA nominations the Bleecker Street release received were for Best Lead Performance for Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Best Supporting Performance for Michele Austin.
—Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 5 Nov. 2024
As always, there are also a few dark horses for which to keep an eye out.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 17 Oct. 2024
Reese was considered a dark horse contender for the honor behind Clark for the first few months of the season.
—Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 4 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dark horse 
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Josh Yohe, The Athletic, 22 Nov. 2024
The former is an Oscar dark horse for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for seven-time nominee Mike Leigh, yet the only BIFA nominations the Bleecker Street release received were for Best Lead Performance for Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Best Supporting Performance for Michele Austin.
—Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 5 Nov. 2024
As always, there are also a few dark horses for which to keep an eye out.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 17 Oct. 2024
Reese was considered a dark horse contender for the honor behind Clark for the first few months of the season.
—Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 4 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dark horse
Dictionary Entries Near dark horse
Cite this Entry
“Dark horse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dark%20horse. Accessed 14 Dec. 2024.
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