English Lexicon

Dark-Horse

/ˈdɑrkˌhɔrs/
nounCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #1500 frequency
Full Thesaurus

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A candidate or competitor about whom little is known but who unexpectedly succeeds.

    "In the election, the dark horse candidate surprised everyone by winning the majority of votes."
  2. 2

    A person or thing that is not well known but has the potential to succeed.

    "The startup was considered a dark horse in the tech industry, quickly gaining traction against established companies."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The term 'dark horse' originated in the early 19th century, primarily in horse racing, referring to a horse that is not known to the public but unexpectedly wins. The phrase has since evolved to describe a person or entity that emerges unexpectedly to achieve success, often in competitive contexts.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Dark-Horse"?

Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Dark-Horse"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Dark-Horse" Synonym Map