unicorn
noun
uni·corn
| \ ˈyü-nə-ˌkȯrn
\
\
plural unicorns
Definition of unicorn
1a
: 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
Since Ghosh’s stint at OYO began, the unicorn has dedicated Rs1,400 crore ($197 million) to its India and south Asia businesses. — Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz India, "What working at a six-year-old startup with a 25-year-old founder is like for a man in his 40s," 18 Aug. 2019 Tatis is essentially a unicorn, a seven-tool player. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Padres believe Tatis will be even better when he learns to not go all out all the time," 17 Aug. 2019 If that’s a unicorn, then maybe a circuit of recurring seasonal jobs would allow novelty and stability both. — Carolyn Hax, The Mercury News, "Carolyn Hax: Does husband’s job-hopping point to ADHD?," 30 July 2019 If that's a unicorn, then maybe a circuit of recurring seasonal jobs would allow novelty and stability both. — Carolyn Hax, oregonlive.com, "Carolyn Hax: Serial job-hopping husband might need professional help making choices that suit his nature," 29 July 2019 Would black Justin Bieber reappear like a unicorn in the forest of our tangled lives? — Jason Parham, WIRED, "How Atlanta, the Most Innovative Show on TV, Reinvented Itself Again," 15 Mar. 2018 Megan, who always wore bright colors as a child, adored fairies and unicorns, according to Destefani. — Hannah Natanson, Washington Post, "When the Dayton shooter killed his sister, he cut short a life full of promise, friends say," 6 Aug. 2019 Get off your sunbed, put the inflatable unicorn away, English football is well and truly back! — SI.com, "Championship Roundup: Fulham Stunned by Barnsley as Cardiff Fall to Defeat," 4 Aug. 2019 Reuters China, not the US, is the home to the most unicorns—startups worth over $1 billion. — Jane Li, Quartz, "The partial disappearance of a $3 billion shopping app shows the biggest risk for China’s unicorns," 31 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'unicorn.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for unicorn
unicorn
noun
English Language Learners Definition of unicorn
: an imaginary animal that looks like a horse and has a straight horn growing from the middle of its forehead
See the full definition for unicorn in the English Language Learners Dictionary
unicorn
noun
uni·corn
| \ ˈyü-nə-ˌkȯrn
\
\
Kids Definition of unicorn
: an imaginary animal that looks like a horse with one horn in the middle of the forehead
unicorn
adjective
uni·corn
| \ ˈyü-nə-ˌkȯ(ə)rn
\
\
Medical Definition of unicorn
: having a single horn or hornlike process
a unicorn uterus
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