plural horns
1
a
: one of the usually paired bony processes that arise from the head of many ungulates and that are found in some extinct mammals and reptiles: such as
(1)
: one of the permanent paired hollow sheaths of keratin usually present in both sexes of cattle and their relatives that function chiefly for defense and arise from a bony core anchored to the skull see cow illustration
(2)
: antler
(3)
: a permanent solid horn of keratin that is attached to the nasal bone of a rhinoceros
(4)
: one of a pair of permanent bone protuberances from the skull of a giraffe or okapi that are covered with hairy skin
b
: a part like an animal's horn attributed especially to the devil
c
: a natural projection or excrescence from an animal resembling or suggestive of a horn
d(1)
: the tough fibrous material consisting chiefly of keratin that covers or forms the horns of cattle and related animals, hooves, or other horny parts (such as claws or nails)
(2)
: a manufactured product (such as a plastic) resembling horn
e
: a hollow horn used to hold something
2
: something resembling or suggestive of a horn: such as
a
: one of the curved ends of a crescent
b
: a sharp mountain peak
c
: a body of land or water shaped like a horn
d
: a beak-shaped part of an anvil
e
: a high pommel of a saddle
f
: cornu
3
a
: an animal's horn used as a wind instrument
b
: a brass wind instrument: such as
(1)
(2)
c
: a wind instrument used in a jazz band
especially : trumpet
d
: a usually electrical device that makes a noise like that of a horn
4
: a source of strength
5
: one of the equally disadvantageous alternatives presented by a dilemma
6
slang : telephone
horn adjective
horned
ˈhȯrnd How to pronounce horn (audio)
 also  ˈhȯr-nəd
adjective
hornedness
ˈhȯr-nəd-nəs How to pronounce horn (audio)
ˈhȯrn(d)-nəs
noun
hornless adjective
hornlessness noun
hornlike adjective

Examples of horn in a Sentence

musketeers carrying their gunpowder in powder horns
Recent Examples on the Web The sheep species, often trophy hunted for its size and long spiraling horns, is listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act, according to court documents. Ashley R. Williams, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024 With a shoulder height as tall as 49-inches and horns over five-feet wide, the 300-pound Marco Polo argali is unequivocally the world’s largest sheep species. Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 13 Mar. 2024 Undeterred, one man began the call to prayer, at times barely audible over the sound of sirens and horns along the street, buses trundling past and the police shouting. Raja Abdulrahim, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024 Distant sirens and horns and the whoosh of the nearby freeway provide the accompanying pulse. Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024 Lowing strings and luminous horns were punctuated by brisk xylophones. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2024 Count me in for principal horn player Elizabeth Freimuth joining guest conductor Jun Märkl to play Richard Strauss’ Horn Concerto No. 1. David Lyman, The Enquirer, 8 Mar. 2024 Not just frosting on the cake and background riffs, like is typical with what horn sections do. Melinda Newman, Billboard, 8 Mar. 2024 The site has previously revealed other valuable artifacts—such as pottery, a collection of gold and silver coins and golden horns dating to the first century—that suggest the area was an important center of power. Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'horn.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, going back to Old English, going back to Germanic *hurna- (whence also Old Frisian, Old High German & Old Norse horn "horn," Gothic haurn), going back to Indo-European *ḱr̥-n-o, perhaps originally "object made of bony material from the head" (whence also Latin cornum, cornū "horn," Welsh carn "hoof, hilt, handle," Breton karn "hoof," and, with an additional velar suffix, Sanskrit śŕ̥ṅgam "horn"), derivative of a base *ḱer-, elsewhere with laryngeal element *ḱer-h2- "bony material constituting the skull or horns" — more at kerato-

Note: Also in Germanic *her-uta- "stag, hart, deer"—see hart. The Latin u-stem cornū perhaps reflects an earlier *korū̆ merged with *korno- (see Alan Nussbaum, Head and Horn in Indo-European, Berlin, 1986, p. 4).

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of horn was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near horn

Cite this Entry

“Horn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/horn. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

horn

noun
1
: one of the hard bony growths on the head of many hoofed animals (as cattle, goats, or sheep)
2
: a part like an animal's horn
3
: the material of which horns are composed or a similar material
4
: a hollow horn used to hold something
powder horn
5
: something resembling a horn
saddle horn
horns of the crescent moon
6
a
: a brass wind instrument (as a trumpet or French horn)
b
: a device that makes a noise like that of a horn
an automobile horn
horned adjective
hornless adjective
hornlike adjective

Medical Definition

horn

noun
1
a
: one of the usually paired bony processes that arise from the head of many ungulates and that are found in some extinct mammals and reptiles
especially : one of the permanent paired hollow sheaths of keratin usually present in both sexes of cattle and their relatives that function chiefly for defense and arise from a bony core anchored to the skull
b
: the tough fibrous material consisting chiefly of keratin that covers or forms the horns of cattle and related animals, hooves, or other horny parts (as claws or nails)
2
: cornu
horned adjective

Geographical Definition

Horn

geographical name

variants or North Cape
cape just south of the Arctic Circle in northwestern Iceland

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