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

And that’s not even considering potential dark horse movies releasing later this year like Memoir of a Snail, from Australian animator Adam Elliot, whose short film Harvie Krumpet won the Animated Short Oscar in 2003. —Joe Reid, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2024

But the sleeper dark horse contender is Benitez (Carlos Diehz), an archbishop from Kabul who ends up winning the position. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 1 Nov. 2024

Cade Smith—a dark horse contender for Rookie of the Year—may have actually been more valuable this year than Clase. —Daniel R. Epstein, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024

Now, Audiard’s crime musical could become a dark horse for the prize. —Clayton Davis, Variety, 10 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1821, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

dark horse

noun

: a contestant or a political figure whose abilities and chances of winning are not known

the convention nominated a dark horse