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.

Nonetheless, he has some dark horses who might not meet his model’s high standards but could still shock the country.

From The Wall Street Journal

Democratic “dark horse” candidate, Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire, had won election that past November.

From Literature

I do actually think England are dark horses to win the tournament given how well they played in Sri Lanka and the options they have.

From BBC

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