unidentified
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
Explanation
If something is unidentified, it's mysterious or unknown, whether it's an unidentified flying object or an unidentified fruit that turns up in your grocery cart. Being unidentified means having an unknown identity, from a Latin root meaning "sameness." If you can't determine the identity of a person, like the victim of a crime or a new student at school, they're unidentified. And if your dog brings something disgusting inside, but you can't figure out what on earth it is, just call it an unidentified object and toss it in the garbage!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At the very least, the Pentagon delivered on President Trump’s promise to release dozens of files about Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, which is the modern term for UFOs, or unidentified flying objects.
From Barron's • May 11, 2026
Unidentified drones have been reported in Denmark since 22 September, when sightings forced the closure of Copenhagen and Oslo airports.
From BBC • Sep. 29, 2025
While many reports of what the government now calls Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena remain unsolved, the new document states plainly there is nothing to see.
From New York Times • Mar. 8, 2024
The mitochondrial DNA from the victim was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2024
The Toll Unidentified skeleton found April 1906 by C. C. Spaulding in the Grand Canyon 300 feet above the river, some miles below Bright Angel trail.
From A Canyon Voyage The Narrative of the Second Powell Expedition down the Green-Colorado River from Wyoming, and the Explorations on Land, in the Years 1871 and 1872 by Dellenbaugh, Frederick Samuel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
