: 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
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.
Yet many local economic developers keep copying Silicon Valley’s playbook – chasing VC, running pitch contests, and hoping for unicorns.—Dileep Rao, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025 Oh, and don't forget this $8 too-cute 3-in-1 Lego unicorn that also transforms into a peacock and a seahorse.—Chaunie Brusie, Parents, 27 June 2025 If Ware turns into Alonzo Mourning, if Jaquez turns into Shane Battier, if Jovic turns into a first-of-his-kind Heat unicorn, if remaining future Heat draft capital is packaged for the team’s next big thing, then Durant’s remaining career arc should be of no Heat concern.—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 23 June 2025 Located about 20 miles south of the scenic coastal resort town of Oban and a quick 10-minute boat ride from Craobh Haven Marina, Shuna is that rare unicorn in private islands: completely private yet surprisingly accessible.—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 20 June 2025 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
: 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 cornentry 3, universe
Share