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Synonyms

underdog

American  
[uhn-der-dawg, -dog] / ˈʌn dərˌdɔg, -ˌdɒg /

noun

  1. a person who is expected to lose in a contest or conflict.

  2. a victim of social or political injustice.

    The underdogs were beginning to organize their protests.
underdog British  
/ ˈʌndəˌdɒɡ /

noun

  1. the competitor least likely to win a fight or contest

  2. a person in adversity or in a position of inferiority

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of underdog

1875–80, under- + dog ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Apple has come a long way from its days as a scrappy underdog in the personal-computing world.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026

Everyone loves an underdog, but doing so may have been costly recently.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

And an underdog who stayed in the contest in defiance of steep odds and, seemingly, common sense.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

“Churchill wanted to portray himself as the underdog, always having to fight against great odds to earn recognition.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026

At least he’d been an appealing underdog then.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.