white hope
Americannoun
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a person who is expected to accomplish much in a given field.
the white hope of the American theater.
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Sports. (formerly) a white man who had a good chance of winning the heavyweight boxing championship from a Black man.
noun
Etymology
Origin of white hope
First recorded in 1905–10
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.
“He became the banner, the poster child for the great white hope of evangelicalism, the salvation of the church in America,” she said.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 10, 2021
This will then evolve into Zoe – the great white hope for the personalised-health revolution.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 23, 2019
Jack Wilshere remains the great white hope and we appear far too dependent on Santi Cazorla as the one class act blessed with sufficient guile to slice doughty defences.
From The Guardian ● May 18, 2013
One of the last chances for averting a strike disappeared last week when young Henry Ford, white hope of the union, turned out to be no comfort at all.
From Time Magazine Archive
When he regained his feet the "white hope" was waiting for him, and Billy went down again to lie there, quite still, while the hand of the referee marked the seconds: One.
From The Mucker by Burroughs, Edgar Rice
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.
