underdog
/ˈʌndɚˌdɔɡ/noun
underdog is spelled U-N-D-E-R-D-O-G: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, underdog means “A competitor thought unlikely to win” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of underdog is underdogs.
How many letters and syllables are in underdog?
| Letters | 8: U-N-D-E-R-D-O-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words; the 18,811th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is underdog?
Underdog appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce underdog?
- UK /ˈʌndəˌdɒɡ/
- US /ˈʌndɚˌdɔɡ/
- US /ˈʌndɚˌdɑɡ/
Underdog has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-underdog.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with underdog?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as underdog (/ʌndəɹdɔɡ/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: grounded.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of underdog
- underdogs plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does underdog mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A competitor thought unlikely to win.
They were the underdogs in the basketball competition.
- 2
Somebody at a disadvantage.
- 3
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Underdog in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | outsider |
| German | Außenseiter, Underdog |
| Portuguese | azarão , desfavorecido |
| Spanish | tapado, cenicienta, maleta, mindundi, último mono , sotanero |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does underdog come from?
From under- + dog.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).