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.
The group said there had also been a "significant increase in the presence of unidentified speed boats linked to different armed groups in Libya".
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
The group said it previously asked that 70 unidentified personnel, who were also in Skrunda-1, be informed of the possible exposure.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Authorities also are looking into a second unidentified object that collided with a cargo plane after the plane aborted its landing at Leipzig due to the closure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
The discovery gives Kiama Library an unusually complete local mystery: an unidentified borrower, a hidden fireplace, a theoretical five-figure fine and, after approximately a century and a half, a very late happy ending.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
At one point in the late afternoon an unidentified boy dashed onto the shooting field and retrieved a wounded pigeon.
From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
