overdog

[ oh-ver-dawg, -dog ]

noun

, Informal.

1. a person who is dominant, in command, or has a significant advantage.

Word History and Origins

Origin of overdog¹

First recorded in 1905–10; over- + dog, modeled on underdog

Example Sentences

The ability to make us root for the overdog, after all, is one of the super-est superpowers that pop culture has.

From New York Times

“Calhoun deployed his concern for the underdog only to help the overdog,” Jentleson writes.

From New York Times

That groundswell of response, with its complicated alloy of heartfelt generosity and overdog guilt, was surely the boon and the bane for “Troop 6000,” the book that Stewart has expanded from her initial article.

From New York Times

In six episodes, “Cheer” documents the lead-up to Daytona, and the series is a quick, compulsive watch, combining the savage thrill of watching an overdog dominate and the emotional pull of witnessing an underdog’s rise.

From The New Yorker

With our help, TV summited Mount Respect, such that the aforementioned most powerful, lucrative, and popular mass medium of our time is no longer an underdog in any sense but an overdog many times over.

From Slate