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horn

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The definition of a horn is a structure coming out of an animal's head, or a beeping device on a vehicle.

(noun)

An example of a horn is what grows out of a ram's head.
An example of a horn is what is on a steering wheel to alert other drivers to danger.

See horn in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

1. a hard, hollow, bony or keratinous, permanent projection that grows on the head of various hoofed animals, esp. bovid ruminants
2. an antler
anything that protrudes naturally from the head of an animal, as one of the tentacles of a snail, a tuft of feathers on certain birds, etc.
the projections imagined as growing on the brow of a cuckold
1. the substance that horns are made of
2. any similar, now often synthetic, substance
1. a container made by hollowing out a horn: a powder horn
2. a drink contained in a horn
cornucopia
anything shaped like or suggesting a horn; specif.,
1. a peninsula or cape
2. either end of a crescent
3. the pointed part of an anvil
4. ☆ a projection above the pommel of a cowboy's saddle
1. an instrument made of horn and sounded by blowing, as the shofar
2. any brass instrument; specif., French horn
3. ☆ Jazz any wind instrument
a device with a kind of blaring sound for signaling or warning
Bible an emblem of glory, strength, or honor
Electronics
1. a horn-shaped speaker
2. a horn-shaped antenna
Geol. a jagged mountain peak resulting from the erosion of several cirques, as the Matterhorn in the Alps

Origin: ME < OE, akin to Ger < IE base *er-, upper part of the body, head > L cornu, Gr keras

transitive verb

to strike, butt, or gore with the horns
to furnish with horns
Archaic to cuckold

adjective

made of horn: horn-rimmed glasses

Related Forms:

hornless adjective
hornlike adjective

cape on an island () in Tierra del Fuego, Chile: southernmost point of South America

See horn in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

One of the hard, usually permanent structures projecting from the head of certain mammals, such as cattle, sheep, goats, or antelopes, consisting of a bony core covered with a sheath of keratinous material.
A hard protuberance, such as an antler or projection on the head of a giraffe or rhinoceros, that is similar to or suggestive of a horn.
a. The hard smooth keratinous material forming the outer covering of the horns of cattle or related animals.
b. A natural or synthetic substance resembling this material.
A container, such as a powder horn, made from a horn.
Something having the shape of a horn, especially:
a. A horn of plenty; a cornucopia.
b. Either of the ends of a new moon.
c. The point of an anvil.
d. The pommel of a saddle.
e. An ear trumpet.
f. A device for projecting sound waves, as in a loudspeaker.
g. A hollow, metallic electromagnetic transmission antenna with a circular or rectangular cross section.
Music
a. A wind instrument made of an animal horn.
b. A brass wind instrument, such as a trombone or tuba.
c. A French horn.
d. A wind instrument, such as a trumpet or saxophone, used in a jazz band.
a. A usually electrical signaling device that produces a loud resonant sound: an automobile horn.
b. Any of various noisemakers operated by blowing or by squeezing a hollow rubber ball.
Slang A telephone.

intransitive verb horned, horn·ing, horns

To join without being invited; intrude. Used with in.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English

Origin: , from Old English; see ker-¹ in Indo-European roots

Related Forms:

horn adjective

hornˈist noun

(click for a larger image)

horn

top: white rhinoceros

bottom: American bighorn ram

A headland of extreme southern Chile in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. The southernmost point of South America, it was first rounded in 1616 by the Dutch navigator Willem Schouten (died 1625), who named it after his birthplace, Hoorn. It is notorious for its storms and heavy seas.

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