1 [C] a hard pointed part that grows, usually in pairs, on the heads of some animals, such as sheep and cows. Horns are often curved.
2 [U] the hard substance of which animal horns are made:
rhino horn
3 [C] a simple musical instrument that consists of a curved metal tube that you blow into:
a hunting horn
4 [C] (especially BrE) = FRENCHHORN:
a horn concerto
5 [C] a device in a vehicle for making a loud sound as a warning or signal:
to honk your car horn * (BrE) to sound / toot your horn * Behind him, a horn blared.
seealsoFOGHORN
IDIOMS
blow / toot your own horn (AmE, informal) = blow your own trumpet at BLOWv.
draw / pull your horns in to start being more careful in your behaviour, especially by spending less money than before:
Small businesses have had to pull their horns in during the recession.
on the horns of a dilemma in a situation in which you have to make a choice between things that are equally unpleasant:
The medical profession's eagerness for scientific advance had impaled it on the horns of a dilemma, forcing an unnatural choice between science and morality.
moreatBULL, LOCKv.
