Cinderella

noun

Cin·​der·​el·​la ˌsin-də-ˈre-lə 

: one resembling the fairy-tale Cinderella: such as

a

: one suffering undeserved neglect

b

: one suddenly lifted from obscurity to honor or significance

Cinderella adjective

Examples of Cinderella in a Sentence

a company that is the Cinderella of the computer industry

The team is the Cinderella of the tournament.

Recent Examples on the Web

March Madness captivates us for three weeks with buzzer-beaters, heartbreaks, and Cinderella stories that defy expectations. —Julian Hayes Ii, Forbes.com, 30 Mar. 2025

Quite simply, this is not the year of the Cinderella squad. —Tobias Bass, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025

Matt Painter took his team all the way to the championship game last year and crushed possible Cinderella stories from High Point and McNeese State in the opening rounds. —Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 27 Mar. 2025

For this year’s biggest Cinderella story, No. 12 seed McNeese State, head coach Will Wade led his team into their second-round matchup against No. 4 Purdue while having already secured his next job at N.C. State. —Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 27 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

after Cinderella, fairy-tale heroine who is used as a drudge by her stepmother but ends up married to a prince

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Cinderella

• arabella
• bartonella
• bordetella
• citronella
• columella
• isabella
• klebsiella
• legionella
• mozzarella
• pasteurella
• salmonella
• trichinella