underdog
noun
un·der·dog
| \ ˈən-dər-ˌdȯg
\
\
Definition of underdog
1
: a loser or predicted loser in a struggle or contest
2
: a victim of injustice or persecution
Examples of underdog in a Sentence
I always root for the underdog instead of the favorite.
As a lawyer, she consistently represented the underdog.
Recent Examples on the Web
Notre Dame plays at Georgia and at Michigan and should be an underdog in both games. — Christopher Smith, al, "10 college football season win totals, futures to bet," 28 Aug. 2019 With its working-class character, fiercely independent arts scenes and underdog mentality, Baltimore practically embodies the punk rock ethos. — Sameer Rao, baltimoresun.com, "One man’s story story of Baltimore punk rock in 5 artifacts," 31 July 2019 The players may have taken on an underdog mentality heading into the final, but their talent certainly did not lend itself to that role. — Laken Litman, SI.com, "Rapinoe, Lavelle Recover to Lead USWNT to Historic Fourth World Cup Title," 7 July 2019 An underdog mentality is baked into the psyche of the vast Central Valley. — Melanie Mason, latimes.com, "California’s long-overlooked Central Valley holds new allure for 2020 candidates," 4 June 2019 The team this year is filled with tons of personality, a desire to win, and an underdog mentality. — Seattle Times Staff, The Seattle Times, "Backtalk: Times readers sound off on Russell Wilson, Mariners and Alex Rodriguez," 12 Apr. 2019 Howard’s 2017 win at UNLV as a 45.5-point underdog is the record. — Michael Casagrande | [email protected], al, "Context for Alabama being 34.5-point favorite over Duke," 23 Aug. 2019 But Castro has been among those on the fence as his underdog campaign has remained mired in the polls, both nationally and in early primary states like Iowa. — Tom Benning, Dallas News, "Julián Castro qualifies for Democratic presidential debate in Houston," 20 Aug. 2019 Sylvester Stallone's underdog tale about a struggling palooka given one shot at the heavyweight championship is a stirring sports movie with a level of charm and sweetness that dissipated in the rounds (and rounds) of sequels that followed. — Brian Lowry, CNN, "Essential movies of the 1970s from 'Jaws' to 'Being There'," 25 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'underdog.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for underdog
underdog
noun
English Language Learners Definition of underdog
: a person, team, etc., that is expected to lose a contest or battle
: a less powerful person or thing that struggles against a more powerful person or thing (such as a corporation)
See the full definition for underdog in the English Language Learners Dictionary
underdog
noun
un·der·dog
| \ ˈən-dər-ˌdȯg
\
\
Kids Definition of underdog
: a person or team thought to have little chance of winning (as an election or a game)
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