unicorn

noun

uni·​corn ˈyü-nə-ˌkȯrn How to pronounce unicorn (audio)
plural unicorns
1
a
: a mythical, usually white animal generally depicted with the body and head of a horse with long flowing mane and tail and a single often spiraled horn in the middle of the forehead
b
: an animal mentioned in the Bible that is usually considered an aurochs, a one-horned rhinoceros, or an antelope
2
: something unusual, rare, or unique
There's the elusive unicorn: headphones that do everything well and work in any situation.Damon Darlin
In Washington, D.C., truth is now a veritable unicorn.Marilyn M. Singleton
… he's like baseball's version of a unicorn—a true two-way player.Tony Paul
3
business : a start-up that is valued at one billion dollars or more
… a tech unicorn in Michigan is even more of a rarity, far from Silicon Valley's investor echo chamber.Scott Martin
The blockbuster initial public offering is expected to kick off a revitalized market this year, encouraging IPO debuts by other unicorns, the privately held start-ups whose hefty venture capital funds have allowed them to avoid Wall Street and the legal requirements of a public offering.Jon Swartz

Illustration of unicorn

Illustration of unicorn

Examples of unicorn in a Sentence

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.
On the other side of Cohen, Lucy wore a fairy unicorn costume, complete with a pink and purple tutu and white wings. Emma Aerin Becker, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024 Former unicorns Alto and Capsule conducted multiple rounds of layoffs, with the latter reportedly struggling with automation efforts. Claire Rychlewski, Axios, 4 Nov. 2024 There are established tech giant stocks with the Wall Street moniker FAANG (Facebook/Meta, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google/Alphabet) and many unicorns in emerging artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and cybersecurity sectors. Roomy Khan, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024 Nearly two-thirds (61%) of companies founded by former employees of fintech unicorns were founded in the same city as the unicorn, according to Accel. Ryan Browne, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for unicorn 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English unicorne, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin unicornis, from Latin, having one horn, from uni- + cornu horn — more at horn

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of unicorn was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near unicorn

Cite this Entry

“Unicorn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unicorn. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

unicorn

noun
: an imaginary animal generally represented with the body and head of a horse and a single horn in the middle of the forehead
Etymology

Middle English unicorne "unicorn," from early French unicorne (same meaning), derived from Latin unicornis "having one horn," from uni- "one" and cornu "horn" — related to corn entry 3, universe

Medical Definition

unicorn

adjective
: having a single horn or hornlike process
a unicorn uterus

More from Merriam-Webster on unicorn

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