dark horse

American  

noun

• dark horses
  plural

1. a racehorse, competitor, etc., about whom little is known or who unexpectedly wins.

2. a candidate who is unexpectedly nominated at a political convention.

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dark horse British  

noun

1. a competitor in a race or contest about whom little is known; an unknown

2. a person who reveals little about himself or his activities, esp one who has unexpected talents or abilities

3. politics a candidate who is unexpectedly nominated or elected

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dark horse Cultural  

1. An unexpected winner. In politics, a dark horse is a candidate for office considered unlikely to receive his or her party's nomination, but who might be nominated if party leaders cannot agree on a better candidate.

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dark horse Idioms  

1. A little known, unexpectedly successful entrant, as in You never can tell—some dark horse may come along and win a Senate seat. This metaphoric expression originally alluded to an unknown horse winning a race and was so used in a novel by Benjamin Disraeli (The Young Duke, 1831). It soon began to be transferred to political candidates, among the first of whom was James K. Polk. He won the 1844 Democratic Presidential nomination on the eighth ballot and went on to win the election.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dark horses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dark horse

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dark horse

Despite winning the Montreal Grand Prix in 2025, McNulty was considered a dark horse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Another social media user called it "pure handmade" and the biggest "dark horse" of the summer movie season.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

His lack of experience on the consumer side had made him a dark horse to take over the top job, as Dimon has long espoused the need for a successor to have worn many hats.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

That angst was a big reason why 64-year-old Sanae Takaichi surged from dark horse to Japan’s first female prime minister in October.

From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 2026

He had become the convention's surprise dark horse.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Related Words

• also-ran
• long shot
• sleeper
• underdog