What does "horn" mean?
A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired.
Horn
/hɔːn/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired.
- Grammar: horn is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: accelerator, acoustical network, aerophone, air-raid alarm.
- Useful contrasts: avoid, evade, refrain.
- Usage evidence: The Van Horn family was in the chips.
How to use "horn"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "horn" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "horn" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "horn" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "horn" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
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- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "horn" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "accelerator" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired. countable
- 2 one of the bony outgrowths on the heads of certain ungulates wordnet
- 3 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. countable, uncountable
- 4 any hard protuberance from the head of an organism that is similar to or suggestive of a horn wordnet
- 5 An antler. countable, uncountable
Show 29 more definitions
- 6 a device on an automobile for making a warning noise wordnet
- 7 The hard substance from which animals' horns are made, sometimes used by man as a material for making various objects. uncountable
"an umbrella with a handle made of horn"
- 8 a brass musical instrument with a brilliant tone; has a narrow tube and a flared bell and is played by means of valves wordnet
- 9 A vessel made from a horn, to contain drink, ink, gunpowder, etc. countable, uncountable
"horns of mead and ale"
- 10 a brass musical instrument consisting of a conical tube that is coiled into a spiral and played by means of valves wordnet
- 11 An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia or the point of an anvil.; One of the two corners of a crescent, particularly of the crescent moon countable, uncountable
"[W]hile riſing ſlow, / Blank, in the leaden-colour'd eaſt, the moon / Wears a wan circle round her blunted horns."
- 12 an alarm device that makes a loud warning sound wordnet
- 13 An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia or the point of an anvil.; The high pommel of a saddle; also, either of the projections on a lady's saddle for supporting the leg. countable, uncountable
- 14 a high pommel of a Western saddle (usually metal covered with leather) wordnet
- 15 An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia or the point of an anvil.; The Ionic volute. countable, uncountable
- 16 a noisemaker (as at parties or games) that makes a loud noise when you blow through it wordnet
- 17 An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia or the point of an anvil.; The outer end of a crosstree; also, one of the projections forming the jaws of a gaff, boom, etc. countable, uncountable
- 18 a device having the shape of a horn wordnet
- 19 An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia or the point of an anvil.; A curved projection on the fore part of a plane. countable, uncountable
- 20 a noise made by the driver of an automobile to give warning wordnet
- 21 An object whose shape resembles a horn, such as cornucopia or the point of an anvil.; One of the projections at the four corners of the Jewish altar of burnt offering. countable, uncountable
"Joab […] caught hold on the horns of the altar"
- 22 the material (mostly keratin) that covers the horns of ungulates and forms hooves and claws and nails wordnet
- 23 Any of several musical wind instruments. countable
- 24 An instrument resembling a musical horn and used to signal others. countable
"hunting horn"
- 25 A loud alarm, especially one on a motor vehicle. countable
- 26 A sound signaling the expiration of time. countable, uncountable
"The shot was after the horn and therefore did not count."
- 27 A conical device used to direct waves. countable
"antenna horn"
- 28 Generally, any brass wind instrument. countable, informal
- 29 A telephone. countable, slang
"Get him on the horn so that we can have a discussion about this."
- 30 An erection of the penis. countable, slang, uncountable, vulgar, with-definite-article
- 31 A peninsula or projecting tract of land. countable
"to navigate around the horn"
- 32 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. countable
- 33 An incurved, tapering and pointed appendage found in the flowers of the milkweed (Asclepias). countable, uncountable
- 34 In naval mine warfare, a projection from the mine shell of some contact mines which, when broken or bent by contact, causes the mine to fire. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To assault with the horns. transitive
- 2 stab or pierce with a horn or tusk wordnet
- 3 To furnish with horns. transitive
- 4 To cuckold. obsolete, slang, transitive
- 5 To sound the horn of a motor vehicle; to honk. India, Singapore, intransitive
", His Precious Gem He horned five times but the man didn't moved his car away."
Proper Noun
- 1 Cape Horn, at the southern tip of South America.
"Sailing around the Horn was an arduous journey for sailing ships."
- 2 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 3 The Horn of Africa, a peninsula of Africa which juts into the Arabian Sea.
"At the same time, it would be erroneous to exaggerate U.S. interests, to overreact to political developments in the Horn, or to adopt imprudent policies based on emotional reactions to Soviet and Cuban involvement."
- 4 A former civil parish in Rutland, England, abolished in 2016 on the formation of Exton and Horn parish. countable, uncountable
- 5 An unincorporated community in Dawes County, Nebraska, United States. countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The Van Horn family was in the chips."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "horn"?
Common synonyms include: accelerator, acoustical network, aerophone, air-raid alarm, alarm, alarm bell.
How do you use "horn" in a sentence?
The Van Horn family was in the chips.
How do you pronounce "horn"?
Pronounced /hɔːn/.
Etymology
From Middle English horn, horne, from Old English horn, from Proto-West Germanic *horn, from Proto-Germanic *hurną. Compare West Frisian hoarn, Dutch hoorn, Low German Hoorn, horn, German Horn, Danish and Swedish horn, Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽 (haurn). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥h₂-nó-m, from *ḱerh₂- (“head, horn”). Compare Breton kern (“horn”), Latin cornū, Ancient Greek κέρας (kéras), Proto-Slavic *sьrna, Old Church Slavonic сьрна (sĭrna, “roedeer”), Hittite [script needed] (surna, “horn”), Persian سر (sar), Sanskrit शृङ्ग (śṛṅga, “horn”). Doublet of corn (“callus”), corno, and cornu. (telephone): From the horn-shaped earpieces of old communication systems that used air tubes.