underdog

noun

un·​der·​dog ˈən-dər-ˌdȯg 

1

: a loser or predicted loser in a struggle or contest

2

: a victim of injustice or persecution

Examples of underdog in a Sentence

I always root for the underdog instead of the favorite.

As a lawyer, she consistently represented the underdog.

Recent Examples on the Web

But in 2015, Japan were the underdogs and yet pulled off a surprise result against rugby titans South Africa. —Patrick Frater, Variety, 11 Sep. 2023

The Blazers are a 6.5-point underdog for the 5 p.m. CT kickoff in the game that will air on ESPN+. —Evan Dudley, al, 9 Sep. 2023

The Rebels, of course, are huge underdogs against Michigan, who are opening the 2023 season with four home games. —Kevin Skiver, Detroit Free Press, 9 Sep. 2023

Backup quarterback Tavita Pritchard led Stanford, a 41-point underdog against Pete Carroll’s five-time defending conference champion Trojans, to what was the biggest upset in college football history. —Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2023

Deion Sanders is not playing around with the media, especially after his nearly three-touchdown underdog Colorado team went to Fort Worth, Texas, and upset TCU. —Scooby Axson, USA TODAY, 3 Sep. 2023

Colorado The Buffaloes recorded one of the biggest season-opening upsets in conference history, slaying TCU as a 20-point underdog. —Jon Wilner | , oregonlive, 3 Sep. 2023

Few things give an underdog the spark that turnovers do. —Corey Smith, Dallas News, 30 Aug. 2023

In last year’s Class 5A football state championship game, Wilsonville was viewed as the underdog against top-seeded Summit. —Nick Celario | , oregonlive, 28 Aug. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

underdog

noun

un·​der·​dog ˈən-dər-ˌdȯg 

: the loser or predicted loser in a struggle