underdog

noun

un·​der·​dog ˈən-dər-ˌdȯg 

1

: a loser or predicted loser in a struggle or contest

… the biggest obstacle has been the adjustment from underdog last season to contender …

—Mike Wise

2

: a victim of injustice or persecution

… portrayed himself as an honest underdog that the Government would do anything to stop.

—Michael Specter

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

There are elements of this match that are a first for the underdog team in the match — or at least the first of its kind in roughly 75 years. — Sam McDowell 9, Kansas City Star, 9 July 2026

The series proceeds from a premise that immediately calls to mind the darkly comic horror movie The Substance, an underdog 2024 Best Picture contender that earned Oscar nominations for both its director, Coralie Fargeat, and its star, Demi Moore. — Judy Berman, Time, 8 July 2026

The current line finds Conor McGregor as the +183 betting underdog to the -213 favorite, Max Holloway. — Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

Who better to carry this underdog spirit than our birthright-citizen striker, or Weston McKennie, a military brat born in Texas who learned to play the game while his father was stationed abroad, in Germany? — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 7 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for underdog

• analog
• analogue
• catalogue
• decalogue
• demagogue
• dialogue
• epilogue
• homologue
• monologue
• pedagogue
• synagogue
• tagalog

Kids Definition

underdog

noun

un·​der·​dog ˈən-dər-ˌdȯg 

: the loser or predicted loser in a struggle