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

Book bans themselves remain a unicorn in Chicago. —Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026

In 2012, Baronchelli took his first leap into entrepreneurship, moving to Hong Kong in 2012 to join the founding team of Asian e-commerce unicorn Lazada. —Angelica Ang, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2026

Both of these are great bourbons, but the distillery also has its fair share of expensive, collectible bottles (some of which might even be classified as unicorns), including the Heritage Collection. —Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 3 Mar. 2026

To find an honest assessment of such a program in the American critical ecosystem is like spotting a unicorn … with roller skates … on Mars. —Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 27 Feb. 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