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
Eaton proved to be something of an artificial intelligence dark horse in 2024 — riding the AI investment wave with best-in-class power management solutions.
—
Zev Fima, CNBC, 24 Dec. 2024
Williams suggests Houston could be a dark horse candidate to sign veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024
Brighton, every shrewd observer’s dark horse tip for the top four, defeated Manchester City at the beginning of November but in subsequent weeks couldn’t beat Southampton or Leicester.
—Nick Miller, The Athletic, 13 Dec. 2024
This opens the door for the Rangers to swoop in as a dark horse suitor in the Alonso sweepstakes.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dark horse 
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Zev Fima, CNBC, 24 Dec. 2024
Williams suggests Houston could be a dark horse candidate to sign veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024
Brighton, every shrewd observer’s dark horse tip for the top four, defeated Manchester City at the beginning of November but in subsequent weeks couldn’t beat Southampton or Leicester.
—Nick Miller, The Athletic, 13 Dec. 2024
This opens the door for the Rangers to swoop in as a dark horse suitor in the Alonso sweepstakes.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 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 5 Jan. 2025.
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