dark horse

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.

With arguably the strongest and deepest squad they have ever assembled in the professional era, the Scots have been many people's dark horses in recent years, but not this time.

From BBC

Surprisingly, none of the three claimed Austen’s best-known novel, “Pride and Prejudice,” while dark horse candidate “Mansfield Park” — Austen’s far less sparkly, even somber third novel — appeared to win the day.

From Los Angeles Times

Even though the Dodgers initially had doubts about their chances of landing Edwin Díaz, circumstances changed, the reliever’s market evolved, and they went from dark horse to front-runner.

From Los Angeles Times

Xiaomi in particular was a "dark horse", she said, its debut AI glasses the third best-selling of their kind for the first half of 2025 despite only being on sale for about a week.

From Barron's

After more than a century of false starts, the dark horse of the renewable-energy industry seems finally poised to make a significant dent in America’s insatiable appetite for new sources of power.

From The Wall Street Journal