darkhorse
darkhorse Lexical Profile
darkhorse Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Having unexpected or little-known qualities that make a surprise victory or success possible.
"The independent filmmaker emerged as a darkhorse contender during the awards season."
• noun
A candidate, competitor, or entrant about whom little is known but who unexpectedly wins or succeeds (typically written as "dark horse").
"Once considered a complete darkhorse in the primary election, the mayor quickly gained momentum in the polls."
Word Nuance & Usage
While sometimes written as the closed compound "darkhorse" or hyphenated as "dark-horse" (especially when used attributively before a noun), standard dictionaries predominantly prefer the open form "dark horse" for the noun.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in early 19th-century British horse racing jargon for a racehorse whose abilities were kept secret from bookmakers; popularized figuratively by Benjamin Disraeli in his 1831 novel The Young Duke.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.