# horn

Pronunciation: say "HORN" US /hɔɹn/, UK /hɔːn/

## Noun

1. A hard growth rising from the head of a cow, sheep, goat, or related animal, typically tapering to a point and often curving.
   - Simple: One of the hard, usually pointed parts that grow on the head of animals like cows, sheep, and goats.
   - _The farmer filed down the tip of each horn so the cattle couldn't injure one another._
   - _In the fall, wild rams crash their heavy, curling horns together to decide who gets to mate._
2. Any growth or projection resembling a horn, such as a deer's antler, a narwhal's tusk, a snail's eyestalk, or the growth on a rhinoceros's nose.
   - Simple: Something like a horn that grows on an animal, such as a deer's antler or a narwhal's long tusk.
   - _The narwhal's spiraled horn can grow several feet long._
   - _Snails wave their soft horns to sense the world around them._
3. A device that makes a loud sound as a warning or signal, such as on a car, or one marking the end of play in a game.
   - Simple: A thing that makes a loud noise as a warning or signal, like the one in a car.
   - _He leaned on the horn when the car ahead refused to move._
   - _A ship's horn sounded twice as it left the harbor._
4. A brass or other wind instrument, especially the French horn or, informally, any trumpet, trombone, or saxophone.
   - Simple: A musical instrument you blow into, such as a trumpet or French horn.
   - _The arranger wanted more horns in the chorus for a fuller sound._
   - _She picked up her horn and joined the brass section._
5. A peninsula or projecting tract of land, especially a pointed one extending into water.
   - Simple: A narrow, pointed piece of land that sticks out into the sea.
   - _From the ridge we could see a long horn of land curling out into the gulf, with waves breaking along its tip._
   - _The lighthouse stood at the very end of the rocky horn._
6. An instrument resembling a musical horn, used to signal or summon others.
   - Simple: A loud instrument used to send a signal to other people.
   - _The coach guard blew his horn as the carriage approached the inn._
   - _Hunting horns echoed through the forest at first light._
7. The hard keratin substance that animal horns are made of, sometimes worked by people into combs, buttons, and other objects.
   - Simple: The hard material that animal horns are made of, used to make small objects.
   - _Craftsmen once shaped horn into drinking cups and knife handles._
   - _Polished horn has a warm, translucent glow._
8. An object shaped like a horn, such as a cornucopia or the pointed end of an anvil.
   - Simple: Something shaped like an animal's horn, such as a curved fruit basket or the pointed end of an anvil.
   - _The farrier worked the horseshoe over the horn of the anvil, tapping it into a tighter curve._
   - _Wicker horns overflowing with gourds and ears of corn lined the shop window before Thanksgiving._
9. A conical device that channels and directs sound or electromagnetic waves.
   - Simple: A cone-shaped part that aims sound or radio waves in one direction.
   - _The antenna's horn focused the microwave beam toward the satellite._
   - _Early loudspeakers relied on a flaring horn to project sound across a hall._
10. A gesture made by holding up the index and little fingers with the other fingers folded down, linked especially with fans of heavy metal.
   - Simple: A hand sign with the first and little fingers up and the others folded, used especially by heavy metal fans.
   - _The singer grinned and raised the horns as thousands of fans roared back at him._
   - _In the graduation photo, he's in his cap and gown, making the horns with both hands._
12. An erection of the penis. *(slang)*
   - Simple: An erect penis.
   - _On the crowded bus he kept his coat over his lap, hoping no one would spot his horn._
   - _Teenage boys tend to get the horn at the worst possible moments, like when they're called to the front of the class._
13. The high pommel at the front of a saddle; also, either of the projections on a lady's sidesaddle that support the rider's leg.
   - Simple: The raised front part of a saddle, or one of the supports on a sidesaddle that hold the rider's leg.
   - _The cowboy looped his rope around the saddle horn before dismounting._
   - _Riding sidesaddle, she rested her leg against the smooth leather horn._
11. A vessel made from a hollowed animal horn, used to hold drink, ink, gunpowder, and the like.
   - Simple: A container made from an animal's horn, used to hold drink, ink, or gunpowder.
   - _Guests passed the mead horn around the long table._
   - _The scribe dipped his pen into a small ink horn._
14. A telephone, especially as the means of making or taking a call. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A telephone, especially the one you pick up to make a call.
   - _The reporter spent all morning on the horn chasing down sources._
   - _Quit hogging the horn. I need to make a call._
16. Either of the two pointed corners of a crescent, especially of the crescent moon.
   - Simple: Either of the two pointed tips of a crescent shape, especially of the new moon.
   - _The upper horn of the crescent moon glowed against the deep blue dusk._
   - _Sailors once judged the coming weather by the way the moon's horns tilted._

## Verb

15. To sound a motor vehicle's horn; to honk. *(India, Singapore)*
   - Simple: To press a car's horn so it makes a loud beep, often to warn other drivers.
   - _Taxis horned impatiently while the bus blocked the narrow street._
   - _Please don't horn so aggressively in residential neighborhoods late at night._
17. To provide or equip something with horns.
   - Simple: To add horns to something, such as a helmet, mask, or statue.
18. To strike or gore someone or something with the horns.
   - Simple: To hit or wound someone or something with horns, the way an angry bull does.
   - _The old cowhand still limps from the day a young steer horned him against the barn wall._
   - _Rams will horn any rival that wanders into their territory._

## Verb

19. To make a cuckold of a man by being unfaithful with his wife; to cuckold him. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To shame a married man by having an affair with his wife.

## Other meanings

- (noun) Any of the projections rising from the four corners of the Jewish altar of burnt offering.
- (noun) A projection on the shell of some contact sea mines that, when bent or broken by a passing vessel, triggers the mine to explode.
- (noun) A diacritical mark attached to the top right corner of the letters o and u in Vietnamese writing, forming ơ and ư.
- (noun) In milkweed (Asclepias) flowers, a pointed, tapering structure that curves inward.
- (noun) The spiral, scroll-shaped volute of an Ionic capital.
- (noun) A curved projection rising from the front part of a woodworking plane.
- (noun) The outer end of a crosstree; also, either of the projections forming the jaws of a gaff, boom, or similar spar.

## Origin

From Middle English "horn," from Old English "horn," going back through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic forms. It ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱerh₂- ("head, horn"), related to Latin "cornū" and Ancient Greek "kéras," and is a doublet of "corn," "corno," and "cornu."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/horn (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).