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
Kyle Okita / Sipa via Reuters Potential dark horses
Joscelyn Roberson
Roberson trains at World Champions Centre alongside Biles.
—
Kaetlyn Liddy, NBC News, 27 June 2024
Ecuador, whose only losses in 14 games came to Argentina and Italy, could be a dark horse.
—Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 20 June 2024
But there are other vacancies in the league that warrant monitoring, like the Las Vegas Raiders, where interim coach Antonio Pierce has a strong chance to get the full-time gig but Harbaugh is viewed as a dark horse.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2024
Advertisement Ecuador, whose only losses in 14 games came to Argentina and Italy, could be a dark horse.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for dark horse 
Kaetlyn Liddy, NBC News, 27 June 2024
Ecuador, whose only losses in 14 games came to Argentina and Italy, could be a dark horse.
—Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 20 June 2024
But there are other vacancies in the league that warrant monitoring, like the Las Vegas Raiders, where interim coach Antonio Pierce has a strong chance to get the full-time gig but Harbaugh is viewed as a dark horse.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2024
Advertisement Ecuador, whose only losses in 14 games came to Argentina and Italy, could be a dark horse.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for dark horse
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dark horse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Dark horse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dark%20horse. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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