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
Notably, Uzbekistan saw the emergence of a unicorn in 2024: the Uzum IT company.
—Erik Aubakirov, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
This song exists for one reason only: so Gaga could open the Born This Way Ball by coming out on a bionic unicorn.
—Kristen S. Hé, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2024
At that time, investors were hungry for a unicorn to repeat Climate Corp’s success.
—Stephen Robert Miller, WIRED, 24 Oct. 2024
Callahan expects that, as more unicorns do primary rounds and tenders, this will really shift.
—Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for unicorn 
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Erik Aubakirov, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
This song exists for one reason only: so Gaga could open the Born This Way Ball by coming out on a bionic unicorn.
—Kristen S. Hé, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2024
At that time, investors were hungry for a unicorn to repeat Climate Corp’s success.
—Stephen Robert Miller, WIRED, 24 Oct. 2024
Callahan expects that, as more unicorns do primary rounds and tenders, this will really shift.
—Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2024
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 28 Nov. 2024.
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
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