Meaning & use
unicorn
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Meanings
nouncountable
A mythical animal that looks like a white horse with a single long horn on its forehead.
Grammar: Countable: a unicorn, many unicorns.
Patterns
- a unicorn horn
- ride a unicorn
In the story, the princess rode a unicorn through the enchanted forest.
The children drew pictures of a unicorn with a rainbow-colored mane.
People once believed that a unicorn's horn could cure diseases.
nouncountableinformalbusiness
A privately held startup company valued at more than one billion dollars.
Grammar: Countable; used in business and technology contexts.
Patterns
- become a unicorn
- join the unicorn club
The app company became a unicorn after its latest round of funding.
Investors are always looking for the next unicorn in the tech industry.
Only a few startups reach unicorn status each year.
Word forms
| plural | unicorns |
|---|
Common combinations
- mythical unicorn
- The tapestry showed a mythical unicorn in a garden.
- unicorn horn
- The unicorn horn was said to have magical powers.
- unicorn startup
- That unicorn startup is now worth over two billion dollars.
- become a unicorn
- The company became a unicorn in just three years.
Synonyms and how they differ
- monoceros
- A rare, technical term for a unicorn, used mainly in astronomy and classical texts.
Word family
- unicorn adjective
- Used before a noun to describe something related to unicorns, as in 'unicorn horn'.
Commonly confused: unicorn or rhinoceros? unicorn or pegasus?
unicorn vs rhinoceros
A rhinoceros is a real animal with one or two horns on its nose, not a mythical horse-like creature.
unicorn vs pegasus
A pegasus is a mythical winged horse, while a unicorn has a single horn and no wings.
Practice
In business news, a 'unicorn' is a startup company that is valued at more than _____.
Choose one answer.
The business sense of 'unicorn' refers to a privately held startup valued at over one billion dollars. The other amounts are too low or too high for this specific term.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unicorn”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.