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

The four clubs with the lowest median ticket price for Opening Day include two teams not expected to contend for a divisional title – the Los Angeles Angels ($74) and the Miami Marlins ($73) – and two dark horses – the Seattle Mariners ($96) and Minnesota Twins ($83.50). —Dan Schlossberg, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025

With all the love, might Torres be a dark horse to win the lead actress Oscar? —Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2025

There may well be a dark horse not among today’s speculation. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 27 Feb. 2025

The Final Four dark horse nobody saw coming Your result of the week so far is No. 15 Missouri 110, No. 4 Alabama 98. —Brendan Marks, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1821, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for dark horse

• concourse
• divorce
• endorse
• enforce
• indorse
• midcourse
• outsource
• perforce
• racecourse
• racehorse
• remorse
• seahorse

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