cellar dweller
noun
sports, informal
: a last-place team : a team with the worst record in a league, conference, etc.
Northwestern University, long a cellar dweller in the Big Ten, defied all odds and went to the Rose Bowl in 1995.—
Andrew Zimbalist
Andrew Zimbalist… any team in the majors—including the cellar dwellers from the season before—has the chance to be the best in the game.—Tracy Ringolsby
Tracy RingolsbyThe Aggies have morphed from conference cellar dweller to annual contender to a program that has won 17 consecutive home games …—Ailene Voisin
Ailene VoisinExamples of cellar dweller in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Especially to the Chicago White Sox, which in only a few years has fallen from a legitimate World Series contender to cellar dweller extraordinaire.
—Michael Peregrine, Forbes, 28 Sep. 2024
Nine of their next 13 games come against the Rockies and their fellow cellar dwellers, the Oakland A’s, only broken up by four games at Dodger Stadium.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 19 July 2024
But to go from a perennial playoff contender as Donovan Mitchell’s teammate on the Utah Jazz to a cellar dweller in Detroit to now a dark horse contending Knicks team?
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 12 Apr. 2024
The key reserves were Landry Shamet, a bench player this season for a cellar dweller in Washington; T.J. Warren, who’s not in Minnesota’s rotation now; Terrence Ross, who is out of the NBA, and Jock Landale, who played 14 minutes per game for Houston this season.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 16 Apr. 2024
The Baltimore Orioles’ ascension from the ashes of irrelevance has rejuvenated a once moribund franchise who were regular cellar dwellers in the American League East.
—Wayne G. McDonnell, Jr., Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024
Nonetheless, after a disastrous stretch defined by injuries, the Vikings (7-9) are suddenly in danger of finishing as the cellar dweller of the NFC North for the first time in a decade.
—Dane Mizutani, Twin Cities, 5 Jan. 2024
The Red Sox, meanwhile, get Monday off before heading to Washington to face the NL East cellar dwellers for three games (Tuesday-Thursday).
—Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 13 Aug. 2023
The league has long been known for providing a friendly landscape for teams to reverse their fortunes in a single year, with at least one group going from cellar dweller to division champion on an almost annual basis.
—Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 21 June 2023
Michael Peregrine, Forbes, 28 Sep. 2024
Nine of their next 13 games come against the Rockies and their fellow cellar dwellers, the Oakland A’s, only broken up by four games at Dodger Stadium.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 19 July 2024
But to go from a perennial playoff contender as Donovan Mitchell’s teammate on the Utah Jazz to a cellar dweller in Detroit to now a dark horse contending Knicks team?
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 12 Apr. 2024
The key reserves were Landry Shamet, a bench player this season for a cellar dweller in Washington; T.J. Warren, who’s not in Minnesota’s rotation now; Terrence Ross, who is out of the NBA, and Jock Landale, who played 14 minutes per game for Houston this season.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 16 Apr. 2024
The Baltimore Orioles’ ascension from the ashes of irrelevance has rejuvenated a once moribund franchise who were regular cellar dwellers in the American League East.
—Wayne G. McDonnell, Jr., Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024
Nonetheless, after a disastrous stretch defined by injuries, the Vikings (7-9) are suddenly in danger of finishing as the cellar dweller of the NFC North for the first time in a decade.
—Dane Mizutani, Twin Cities, 5 Jan. 2024
The Red Sox, meanwhile, get Monday off before heading to Washington to face the NL East cellar dwellers for three games (Tuesday-Thursday).
—Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 13 Aug. 2023
The league has long been known for providing a friendly landscape for teams to reverse their fortunes in a single year, with at least one group going from cellar dweller to division champion on an almost annual basis.
—Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 21 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cellar dweller.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Cellar dweller.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cellar%20dweller. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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