Illustration of unicorn
unicorn
noun
uni·corn
ˈyü-nə-ˌkȯrn 
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
Damon DarlinIn Washington, D.C., truth is now a veritable unicorn.—Marilyn M. Singleton
Marilyn M. Singleton… he's like baseball's version of a unicorn—a true two-way player.—Tony Paul
Tony Paul3
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
Scott MartinThe 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
Jon Swartz
Examples of unicorn in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
If your goal is to build a unicorn, don’t waste energy and resources chasing first mover status or merely achieving a product-market fit.
—Dileep Rao, Forbes, 27 Jan. 2025
Rudd and Ortega are a father and daughter who accidentally hit and kill a unicorn with their car on their way to a retreat, after which Rudd’s rich boss tries to exploit the unicorn’s miracle powers.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 24 Jan. 2025
Case in point: Just three of 46 U of M alumni unicorn startups were based in Michigan, per Song.
—Joe Guillen, Axios, 23 Jan. 2025
Poke art comes in themes ranging from animals to unicorns, and no glue, cutting, or painting is required.
—Emily Hochberg, Parents, 17 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for unicorn 
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.
Dileep Rao, Forbes, 27 Jan. 2025
Rudd and Ortega are a father and daughter who accidentally hit and kill a unicorn with their car on their way to a retreat, after which Rudd’s rich boss tries to exploit the unicorn’s miracle powers.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 24 Jan. 2025
Case in point: Just three of 46 U of M alumni unicorn startups were based in Michigan, per Song.
—Joe Guillen, Axios, 23 Jan. 2025
Poke art comes in themes ranging from animals to unicorns, and no glue, cutting, or painting is required.
—Emily Hochberg, Parents, 17 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for unicorn
Dictionary Entries Near unicorn
Cite this Entry
“Unicorn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unicorn. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
unicorn
noun
uni·corn
ˈyü-nə-ˌkȯ(ə)rn
: 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
uni·corn
ˈyü-nə-ˌkȯ(ə)rn
: having a single horn or hornlike process
a unicorn uterus
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share