black sheep

noun

: a disfavored or disreputable member of a group

Examples of black sheep in a Sentence

She was the black sheep of the family.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But Microsoft looked even worse now that Alphabet had gone from black sheep to market darling, thanks to the release of Gemini 3 in late 2025. — Zev Fima, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026 Adapalene Adapalene is a bit of a black sheep in the family of retinoids. — Deanna Pai, Vogue, 7 Oct. 2026 The record has always been looked at as the black sheep of the two albums, the more experimental foray that embraced the coldness of synths on a stylistic side quest. — Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 26 May 2026 For the first two-to-three years we (mostly me) were known inside LVMH as black sheep (aka losers). — Jenny B. Fine, Footwear News, 8 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for black sheep

Word History

First Known Use

1640, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of black sheep was in 1640

Rhymes for black sheep

See All Rhymes for black sheep

Browse Nearby Words

black shark
black sheep
Blackshirt
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Black sheep.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/black%20sheep. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

black sheep

noun
: a person having a bad reputation in a group with a good reputation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All