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underdog

noun
/ˈʌndəˌdɒɡ/UK/ˈʌndɚˌdɔɡ/US

Etymology

From under- + dog.

  1. derived from dox — “dark, swarthy”
  2. inherited from dogga
  3. inherited from dogge
  4. prefixed as underdog — “under + dog”

Definitions

  1. A competitor thought unlikely to win.

    • They were the underdogs in the basketball competition.
    • In Athens, the Americans are underdogs to the Chinese and the Canadians (the Canadians!)
    • The visit of a Championship side would not normally send a shiver down their spine but they knew that Wigan were underdogs who would snap at their heels and that they possessed a potent bite if they were not kept on a firm leash.

  2. Somebody at a disadvantage.

    • Laszlo: Isn't it strange that you always happened to be fighting on the side of the underdog? Rick: Yes. I found that a very expensive hobby, too. But then I never was much of a businessman.

  3. A high swing wherein the person pushing the swing runs beneath the swing while the person…

    A high swing wherein the person pushing the swing runs beneath the swing while the person being pushed is at the forward limit of the arc.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for underdog. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA