underdog

noun

un·der·dog | \ ˈən-dər-ˌdȯg

Definition of underdog

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

Neither film got the kind of massive marketing push usually expected from major awards contenders (even Get Out, this year's awards underdog, played the game in that respect). — refinery29.com, "Steven Spielberg Has Got Netflix Movies All Wrong — But So Does Netflix," 27 Mar. 2018 Gaga has been characterized as an underdog, a Hollywood newcomer, for her breakout role in A Star Is Born (despite being a global superstar and winning a Golden Globe for acting in 2015). — Kyndall Cunningham, Glamour, "The Oscar Race Is All About Gaga vs. Glenn—But What About Women of Color?," 22 Jan. 2019 In recent years, a debate has raged through the internet’s culinary quarters, pitting pumpkin purists against backers of the pie-world’s underdog filling. — Robert Mcmillan, WSJ, "Your Pumpkin Pie Has a Dark Secret— It’s Made From Squash," 20 Nov. 2018 The musical high school dramedy teetered between an after-school special on acid and a heartwarming celebration of the underdog. — refinery29.com, "The Hallmarks Of A Ryan Murphy Show," 4 June 2018 But Sanchez embraced the role of underdog and tapped into the anger of rank-and-file members who felt that he had been unfairly dumped by the party elite. — Joseph Wilson, The Christian Science Monitor, "Spain's new leader Pedro Sanchez promises an end to corruption," 1 June 2018 But Sanchez embraced the role of underdog and tapped into the anger of rank-and-file members who felt that he had been unfairly dumped by the party elite. — Washington Post, "Spain finds its comeback kid in new leader Pedro Sanchez," 1 June 2018 Avenatti has emerged as the unlikely voice of the underdog while out-classing a bunch of establishment schlubs with his impeccable style and cool-as-a-cucumber demeanor. — Rachel Dodes, Vanities, "Michael Avenatti Is “Very Flattered” That You Think He’s a Style Icon," 17 May 2018 No concerns of underdog Johnson had no interest in hearing about the Heat being a longshot to defeat the Sixers. — Shandel Richardson, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Dealing with Sixers' height among biggest concerns for Heat," 13 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'underdog.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.