noun
horn
hawn
noun
1
A hard, pointed growth on the head of certain animals, such as cattle, goats, or rhinos.
"The bull lowered its horns and charged."
"Rhino horn is prized illegally for its supposed medicinal value."
2
A brass wind instrument, or an instrument used to signal.
"She plays French horn in the orchestra."
"The referee blew the horn to end the match."
3
A device on a vehicle that makes a loud warning sound.
"He honked the horn to warn the cyclist."
verb
1
To sound a vehicle's horn.
"A driver horned at us to hurry up."
How to Use Horn
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishAn animal's pointed head-growth, a brass musical instrument, or a vehicle's warning sound.
Common pairings
honk the horn
blow a horn
lock horns
Word Forms
horned past tense, horns plural, Horns plural, horns singular
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “horn”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
The bull lowered its _____ and charged.
Etymology
From Old English horn, from a Proto-Germanic root ultimately going back to a very old Indo-European word for "head" or "horn" — the same root that gives Latin cornu and Greek keras. The car/telephone sense comes from the horn-shaped mouthpieces of early sound equipment.