Horn definition

hôrn
horned horning horns
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Frequency:
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.
noun
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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.

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.

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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.
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A container, such as a powder horn, made from a horn.
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Something having the shape of a horn, especially:
  • A horn of plenty; a cornucopia.
  • Either of the ends of a new moon.
  • The point of an anvil.
  • The pommel of a saddle.
  • An ear trumpet.
  • A device for projecting sound waves, as in a loudspeaker.
  • A hollow, metallic electromagnetic transmission antenna with a circular or rectangular cross section.
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(slang) A telephone.
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The hard smooth keratinous material forming the outer covering of the horns of cattle or related animals.
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A natural or synthetic substance resembling this material.
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A wind instrument made of an animal horn.
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A brass instrument, such as a trombone or tuba.
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A French horn.
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A wind instrument, such as a trumpet or saxophone, used in a jazz band.
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A usually electrical signaling device that produces a loud resonant sound.

An automobile horn.

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Any of various noisemakers operated by blowing or by squeezing a hollow rubber ball.
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To join without being invited; intrude. Used with in.
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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.
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A horn or antler figuratively attributed to a cuckold.
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Anything shaped like or suggesting a horn.
  • A peninsula or cape.
  • Either end of a crescent.
  • The pointed part of an anvil.
  • A projection above the pommel of a cowboy's saddle.
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A device with a kind of blaring sound for signaling or warning.
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(bible) An emblem of glory, strength, or honor.
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(geol.) A jagged mountain peak resulting from the erosion of several cirques, as the Matterhorn in the Alps.
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A hard, hollow, bony or keratinous, permanent projection that grows on the head of various hoofed animals, esp. bovid ruminants.
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An antler.
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The hard, smooth, keratinous substance that forms the horns, nails, beaks, hoofs, or shells of various animals.
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Any substance like this in appearance, texture, etc.
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A container made by hollowing out a horn.

A powder horn.

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A drink contained in a horn.
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An instrument made of horn and sounded by blowing, as the shofar.
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(jazz) Any wind instrument.
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A horn-shaped speaker.
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A horn-shaped antenna.
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To strike, butt, or gore with the horns.
verb
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To furnish with horns.
verb
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(archaic) To cuckold.
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Made of horn.

Horn-rimmed glasses.

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(place) Cape on an island (Horn Island) in Tierra del Fuego, Chile: southernmost point of South America.
proper name
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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.
noun
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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.
noun
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The hard smooth keratinous material forming the outer covering of the horns of cattle or related animals.
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A natural or synthetic substance resembling this material.
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Either of the bony growths projecting from the upper part of the head of certain hoofed mammals, such as cattle, sheep, and goats. The horns of these animals are never shed, and they consist of bone covered by keratin.
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A hard growth that looks like a horn, such as an antler or a growth on the head of a giraffe or rhinoceros. Unlike true horns, antlers are shed yearly and have a velvety covering, and the horns of a rhinoceros are made not of bone but of hairy skin fused with keratin.
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The hard durable substance that forms the outer covering of true horns. It consists of keratin.
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(countable) A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired.
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Any similar real or imaginary growth or projection such as the elongated tusk of a narwhal, the eyestalk of a snail, the pointed growth on the nose of a rhinoceros, or the hornlike projection on the head of a demon or similar.
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An antler.
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(uncountable) The hard substance from which animals' horns are made, sometimes used by man as a material for making various objects.

An umbrella with a handle made of horn.

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An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia, the point of an anvil, or a vessel for gunpowder or liquid.
  • The high pommel of a saddle; also, either of the projections on a lady's saddle for supporting the leg.
  • (architecture) The Ionic volute.
  • (nautical) The outer end of a crosstree; also, one of the projections forming the jaws of a gaff, boom, etc.
  • (carpentry) A curved projection on the fore part of a plane.
  • One of the projections at the four corners of the Jewish altar of burnt offering.
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(countable) Any of several musical wind instruments.
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(countable) An instrument resembling a musical horn and used to signal others.

Hunting horn.

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(countable) A loud alarm, especially one on a motor vehicle.
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(countable) A conical device used to direct waves.

Antenna horn.

Loudspeaker horn.

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(informal, countable) Generally, any brass wind instrument.
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(slang, countable, from the horn-shaped earpieces of old communication systems that used air tubes) A telephone.
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(uncountable, vulgar, slang, definite article) An erection of the penis.
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(countable) A peninsula or crescent-shaped tract of land. "to navigate around the horn."
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(botany) An incurved, tapering and pointed appendage found in the flowers of the milkweed (Asclepias).
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(of an animal) To assault with the horns.
verb
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Cape Horn, at the southern tip of South America.

Sailing around the Horn was an arduous journey for sailing ships.

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The Horn of Africa, a peninsula of Africa which juts into the Arabian Sea.
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The states which occupy this peninsula: Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and Somaliland.
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Any brass instrument; specif.,
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(countable) A diacritical mark that may be attached to the top right corner of the letters o and u when writing in Vietnamese, thus forming ơ and ư.
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(informal) blow
  • To brag or boast about oneself.
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(informal) draw
  • To restrain oneself; draw back.
  • To retreat from a previously taken position, view, or stance.
  • To economize.
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on the horns of a dilemma
  • Faced with two equally undesirable alternatives.
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around the horn
  • (thrown) from third base to second to first in trying for a double play
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blow one's own horn
  • to praise oneself; boast
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horn in (on)
  • to intrude or meddle (in)
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lock horns
  • to have a disagreement or conflict
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on the horns of a dilemma
  • having to make a choice between two things, both unpleasant
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pull in one's horns
  • to hold oneself back; restrain one's impulses or efforts
  • to back down; become less dogmatic, positive, zealous, etc.
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the horn
  • the telephone
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Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
horn
Plural:
horns

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

blow one's own horn
horn in (on)
the horn

Origin of horn

  • Middle English from Old English ker-1 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Middle English horn, horne, from Old English horn, from Proto-Germanic *hurną (compare West Frisian hoarn, Dutch hoorn, Low German Hoorn, horn, German Horn, Danish and Swedish horn, Gothic (haurn)), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-, (compare Breton kern (“horn”), Latin cornū, Ancient Greek κέρας (keras), Old Church Slavonic сръна (srŭna, “roedeer”), Hittite [script?] (surna, “horn”)[script?], Persian sur, Sanskrit शृङ्ग (ṡṛṅga, “horn”)).

    From Wiktionary

Horn Sentence Examples

  • Somewhere in the distance a horn honked.

  • A car horn outside woke him in less than five minutes.

  • She hung on to the horn, talking to the horse.

  • Then from that spot came the sound of a horn, with the signal agreed on in case of a fight.

  • Bone or horn, too, was used.

More sentences

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Also Mentioned In

Words near horn in the Dictionary