dark horses

noun

plural of dark horse
1
as in stalking horses

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2
as in long shots

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dark horses
  1. competitors
  2. plays
  3. favorites
  4. contestants
  5. entrants
  6. qualifiers
  7. entries
  8. candidates
Noun
  • Though Unitree is profitable, unlike most of its competitors, its products are mainly being sold to universities and research institutions rather than being used commercially.
    — Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Mohammed Zahidullah, chief sustainability officer at DBL Group, warned that Bangladesh risks losing orders to competitors including India, Pakistan and Vietnam as those sourcing markets move more quickly to adopt renewable energy.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of competitors
Noun
  • Herkov experienced Florida’s first national championship with Wuerffel throwing touchdowns and Spurrier dialing up plays.
    — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2026
  • But Craig and the offense are able to come alive with a handful of chunk plays in the second half to take a lead and force the Mountaineers to use their questionable passing game to mount a comeback.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of plays
Noun
  • With the casting for James Bond now very much underway and Elordi continuing to have a strong presence among the favorites for the coveted role, Variety also managed to sneak in a question about whether he’d been involved in the auditions.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Cheese, Greek and kale pizzas are customer favorites, or cozy up to a nostalgic helping of lasagna, made with ricotta and mozzarella cheese with marinara or Bolognese sauce.
    — USA TODAY Network, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of favorites
Noun
  • Instead, contestants compete for crowd reaction and are rewarded with attention and, in some cases, small cash prizes.
    — Mitchell McCluskey, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
  • As contestants begin to gather in Florida, Becker is getting noticed.
    — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of contestants
Noun
  • To date, astronomers have found more than 6,300 of these alien worlds orbiting other stars, with new entrants to our exoplanetary catalogs arriving practically every day.
    — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The real test will come as some of the new Hollywood entrants to the vertical space really get going with their more polished releases.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of entrants
Noun
  • For the first time in quite a while, the western and eastern Europe qualifiers have been merged into one super qualifier, featuring top teams from both regions.
    — Mike Stubbs, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Definition of qualifiers
Noun
  • At the Grand Slams, which have 128 entrants in the men’s and women’s singles fields, wild cards usually take up six percent of the entries.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Out of 90 total concessionaires, 46 participated this year, with a record-breaking number of 77 different entries.
    — Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of entries
Noun
  • Meanwhile, outside the five districts that Democrats hope to switch, there are safely Democratic districts where progressive candidates are jousting with mainstream rivals, a subset of the national party’s ideological conflict.
    — Dan Walters, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Two possible Democratic 2028 presidential candidates — ex-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Rahm Emanuel, an ex-Chicago mayor who was President Barack Obama’s first White House chief of staff — have campaigned with Powell.
    — Will Weissert, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of candidates
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

dark horse
dark horses
darkish
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Cite this Entry

“Dark horses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dark%20horses. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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