uncle

American  

[uhng-kuhl] / ˈʌŋ kəl /

noun

1. a brother of one's father or mother.

2. an aunt's husband.

3. a familiar title or term of address for any elderly man.

4. Slang. a pawnbroker.

5. (initial capital letter) Uncle Sam.

6. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter U.

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idioms

1. say / cry uncle, to concede defeat.

   They ganged up on him in the schoolyard and made him say uncle.

uncle British  

/ ˈʌŋkəl /

noun

1. a brother of one's father or mother

2. the husband of one's aunt

3. a term of address sometimes used by children for a male friend of their parents

4. slang a pawnbroker

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uncle More Idioms  

1. see cry uncle; Dutch uncle.

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Other Word Forms

• uncleless adjective
• uncleship noun

Etymology

Origin of uncle

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French uncle, Old French oncle, from Latin avunculus “mother's brother,” equivalent to av(us) “mother's father” + -unculus suffix extracted from diminutives of n-stems ( homunculus )

Example Sentences

In June, Jack Schlossberg said on social media that his family had not been consulted for the new show, then accused Murphy of profiting off his uncle’s life in a “grotesque” way.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mahjong Mistress is run by four friends who’ve taken mah-jongg, a game played by parents, uncles and aunts, and made it the centerpiece of a chill new L.A. party.

From Los Angeles Times

Wedding ceremonies are “very Latin,” Himede said, a “time where I can see my hundreds of cousins and uncles that we have.”

From Los Angeles Times

He had about $47 in his bank account and was living in a mobile home in Raleigh, N.C., he said, when on the advice of his uncle he started looking for a sales job.

From The Wall Street Journal

He was decked out in a custom all-white outfit, featuring a jersey bearing his mother’s last name, Ocasio, and the number 64, which is the number his uncle once wore as a football player.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• aunt
• cousin
• father
• folk
• mother
• niece
• sibling