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

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

Officials from Alibaba, Tencent, and Zhipu cautioned that despite the global hype surrounding Chinese AI — two Chinese AI unicorns went public last week — the sector is too stretched and lacks the resources to rival American giants OpenAI and Anthropic. —J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 11 Jan. 2026

In Atlanta, spotting a local at a hotel restaurant is like catching a glimpse of a unicorn—but Tiny Lou’s happens to be filled with unicorns. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2026

Llalacorn, a combination unicorn and llama, stands at a staggering 32 inches tall. —Bestreviews, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026

The funding is the latest sign of investors’ growing recognition of the importance of cybersecurity in the AI age, creating a flurry of deals and a new crop of cybersecurity mega-unicorns. —Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2026

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

Phrases Containing unicorn

• unicorn plant

Rhymes for unicorn

• peppercorn
• waterborne
• winterbourne
• adorn
• airborne
• blackthorn
• broomcorn
• buckhorn
• buckthorn
• careworn
• firstborn
• foodborne

Kids 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